Awara Quigley2002 S

THE AWARA VERBAL SYSTEM
by
Susan R. Quigley
Bachelor of Arts, The King's College, 1987
A Thesis
Submitted to the Graduate Faculty
of the
University of North Dakota
in partial fulfillment of the requirements
for the degree of
Master of Arts
Grand Forks, North Dakota

December
2002
Copyright 2002 Susan R. Quigley
ii
This thesis, submitted by Susan R. Quigley in partial fulfillment of the
requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts from the University of North Dakota, has
been read by the Faculty Advisory Committee under whom the work has been done and
is hereby approved.
(Chairperson)
This thesis meets the standards for appearance, conforms to the style and format
requirements of the Graduate School of the University of North Dakota, and is hereby
approved.
Dean of the Graduate School
Date
iii
PERMISSION
Title The Awara Verbal System

Department Linguistics
Degree Master of Arts
In presenting this thesis in partial fulfillment of the requirements for a graduate

degree from the University of North Dakota, I agree that the library of this University
shall make it freely available for inspection. I further agree that permission for extensive
copying for scholarly purposes may be granted by the professor who supervised my
thesis work or, in his absence, by the chairperson of the department or the dean of the
Graduate School. It is understood that any copying or publication or other use of this
thesis or part thereof for financial gain shall not be allowed without my written
permission. It is also understood that due recognition shall be given to me and to the
University of North Dakota in any scholarly use which may be made of any material in
my thesis.
Signature _____________________________________
Date _____________________________________
iv
TABLE OF CONTENTS
List of Figures ................................................................................................................ix
List of Tables ..................................................................................................................x
List of Abbreviations and Special Symbols....................................................................xii
Acknowledgements ..................................................................................................... xiii
Abstract.........................................................................................................................xv
1 Introduction .............................................................................................................1
2 Brief Description of Phonology................................................................................4

2.1 Phonemes and Orthography.........................................................................4
2.2 Morphophonemic Processes ........................................................................5
2.3 Tables Showing Variation in Verbs .............................................................7
3 Overview of Syntax and Morphology.....................................................................11
3.1 Clauses .....................................................................................................11
3.2 Verbs ........................................................................................................12
3.3 Serial-Verb Constructions .........................................................................14
3.4 Subordinate-Dependent Clauses ................................................................15
3.5 Anaphoric Pro-verbs Based on ting 'be'.....................................................16
3.6 Classifiers .................................................................................................16
3.7 Classifier and Noun Phrases ......................................................................17
3.8 Postpositions .............................................................................................20
4 Clause Types..........................................................................................................22
4.1 Active Clauses ..........................................................................................22
4.2 Stative Clauses..........................................................................................23
4.2.1 Stative Clauses with Non–Verbal Predicates ................................23
4.2.2 Stative Clauses with Non–Inflecting Existential Verbs .................24
v
4.2.3 Stative Clauses with Inflecting Verbs ...........................................24
4.3 Independent Clauses..................................................................................25
4.4 Dependent Clauses....................................................................................27
4.4.1 Subordinate–Dependent Clauses ..................................................27
4.4.2 Cosubordinate-Dependent Clauses ...............................................28
5 Modal Nouns .........................................................................................................32
5.1 =nangäsä 'deontic' ....................................................................................34
5.2 =nangän 'deontic' .....................................................................................36
5.3 =nage 'purpose' .........................................................................................37
5.4 Types of Meaning in Modal Nouns ...........................................................39

6 Verb Subcategories ................................................................................................41
6.1 Morphological Pattern...............................................................................41
6.2 Valence.....................................................................................................42
6.2.1 Intransitive Verbs.........................................................................43
6.2.2 Transitive Verbs...........................................................................44
6.2.3 Semitransitive Verbs ....................................................................47
Semitransitive Verbs with No Object-Indexing Prefix ..............49
Semitransitive Verbs with Optional Object-Indexing Prefix......49
Semitransitive Verbs with Obligatory Object-Indexing Prefix ..51
6.2.4 Ditransitive Verbs ........................................................................52

6.2.5 Benefactive Verbs ........................................................................53
6.3 Inherent Aspect .........................................................................................54
7 Verbal Morphology................................................................................................56
7.1 Derivational Verb Stem Morphology.........................................................56
7.1.1 Lexical Compounding ..................................................................56
7.1.2 Benefactive Compounds...............................................................58
7.1.3 Verbs formed with –ta 'become' ...................................................61
7.2 Verbal Inflection .......................................................................................62
vi
7.2.1 Object-Indexing Prefixes..............................................................62
7.2.2 Verb Suffix Classes......................................................................66
7.2.3 Subject-Indexing Suffixes ............................................................67
7.2.4 Final-Verb Subject–Indexing Suffixes..........................................69
Tense Suffixes..........................................................................69
Imperative Mood Suffixes ........................................................73
Irrealis Suffixes ........................................................................78
7.2.5 Medial-Verb Subject–Indexing Suffixes.......................................80
Same-Subject Suffixes..............................................................81
Different-Subject Suffixes ........................................................82

7.2.6 Aspect Suffixes ............................................................................83
–ga and –ka 'Dynamic Imperfective' ........................................83
–xät 'Static Imperfective' ..........................................................87
Distinction between the Dynamic and Static Imperfectives.......88
7.2.7 Temporal Suffixes........................................................................89
–gämäta 'Persistent' .................................................................90
–hi 'Durative'............................................................................91
–nage 'soon'..............................................................................93
8 Subordinate–Dependent Clauses ............................................................................95
8.1 Complement Clauses.................................................................................95

8.2 Adverbial Clauses .....................................................................................98
8.2.1 Temporal Clauses.........................................................................99
8.2.2 Locative Clauses ........................................................................ 100
8.2.3 Manner Clauses.......................................................................... 101
8.2.4 Reason and Purpose Clauses ...................................................... 101
8.2.5 Conditional Clauses ................................................................... 102
9 Cosubordinate Clauses followed by Postpositions ................................................103
10 Negation ..............................................................................................................105
vii
10.1 Scope of Negation................................................................................... 105
10.2 Negation with Modal Nouns.................................................................... 107
11 Serial-Verb Constructions ....................................................................................109
11.1 Distinguishing Serial-Verb Constructions from Clause Chains ................ 110
11.2 Serial-Verb Constructions and Compound Verbs .................................... 113
11.3 Serial Verbs Encoding Complex Events .................................................. 114
11.4 Serial Verbs Encoding Direction ............................................................. 116
11.5 Serial Verbs Encoding Specific Aspects.................................................. 117
11.6 Ambient Serial-Verb Constructions......................................................... 119
11.7 Preceding Motion Verb Constructions..................................................... 120

11.7.1 Motion Serial-Verb Constructions .............................................. 120
11.7.2 Motion Serial Verb-Phrase Constructions................................... 121
11.7.3 äng-Motion Serial Verb-Phrase Constructions ........................... 123
11.7.4 Reduplication of Motion Verb.................................................... 123
Appendix: Allomorphs of Unvoiced Stop–Initial Suffixes and Clitics..........................124
References...................................................................................................................126
viii
LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 1 General Locality Map.......................................................................................1
Figure 2 Language Map..................................................................................................2

Figure 3 Subcategorization Frames for Agent–oriented Semitransitive Verbs ...............47
Figure 4 Subcategorization Frames for Patient–oriented Semitransitive Verbs..............48
ix
LIST OF TABLES
Table 1 Vowel Phonemes ...............................................................................................4
Table 2 Consonant Phonemes.........................................................................................4

Table 3 Template for Tables Showing Variation in Verbs...............................................7
Table 4 ˜–, t–, and p– Final Verbs ..................................................................................8
Table 5 mut 'throw'.........................................................................................................8
Table 6 mi˜ 'give' ...........................................................................................................9
Table 7 p-Final Motion Verbs.........................................................................................9
Table 8 Verbs with Monosyllabic and Disyllabic Stems ...............................................10
Table 9 ku˜Å˜ 'die' .......................................................................................................10
Table 10 Classifiers ......................................................................................................17
Table 11 Classifiers with Abstract Nouns .....................................................................17
Table 12 Number Object Prefixes.................................................................................62
Table 13 Person/Number Object Prefixes .....................................................................63
Table 14 dup 'see'.........................................................................................................64
Table 15 sipmäng 'hit'..................................................................................................65
Table 16 hang 'bite/cook' .............................................................................................65
Table 17 Verb Suffixes..................................................................................................66
Table 18 Subject–Indexing Suffixes Occurring on Verbs..............................................68
Table 19 Tense, Modality and Different-Subject
Suffixes followed by Subject-Indexing Suffixes .............................................69
Table 20 Present Tense.................................................................................................70
Table 21 Past Tense......................................................................................................71
Table 22 Future Tense ..................................................................................................72
Table 23 Default Imperative Mood................................................................................73
Table 24 Immediate Imperative Mood ..........................................................................75
x
Table 25 Apprehension.................................................................................................78
Table 26 Hypothetical ..................................................................................................79
Table 27 Probable.........................................................................................................80
Table 28 Different–Subject Suffixes.............................................................................82
Table 29 Allomorphs of Unvoiced Stop–Initial Suffixes and Clitics ........................... 125
xi
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS AND SPECIAL SYMBOLS
Abbreviation Term Abbreviation Term
Abl Ablative Prob Probable
Appr Apprehension Prohib Prohibitive
Cl Classifier Pst Past
Comp Complementizer Refl Reflexive
Cond Conditional SIpf Stative Imperfective
Dat Dative Spec Specific
Dim Diminutive SS.Pf Same Subject Perfective
Dis Dislocation SS.DurPf Same Subject Durative
Dub Dubitative Perfective
Dur Durative SS.Ipf Same Subject
DImp Default Imperative Imperfective
DIpf Dynamic Imperfective Top Topic
DS Different Subject 1 first person
Fut Future 2 second person
Gen Genitive 3 third person
Hyp Hypothetical 23 second or third person
Imm Immediate s singular
Indiv Individuator d dual
Indef Indefinite p plural
Lnk Linker s.DIpf Dynamic Imperfective,
Loc Locative singular subject
Neg Negative p.DIpf Dynamic Imperfective,
Nom Nominalizer plural subject
O Object ±1.day yesterday, tomorrow
Persist Persistent ±2.day two days ago, two days
PFocus Predicate Focus from now
Poss Possessor = clitic
Pr Present
xii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
First, I wish to express my deep gratitude to my committee, Dr. Albert Bickford
(chairperson), Dr. Stephen Levinsohn, and Dr. David Weber.
My first summer at UND, I took the grammar course that Albert was teaching,
and I learned then that studying linguistics was going to be even more fun than I had
imagined. Albert's enthusiasm got me started on this project and his encouragement and
willingness to teach me made learning a delight. He's read several versions of the thesis
and taught me much about linguistic analysis and writing. The literature he directed me to
and his own e-mails and comments inserted in the drafts are good reference material for
future work.
Even before we knew he might be on my committee, Stephen offered to help me
with a problem in discourse analysis. Then, when I asked him to join the committee, he
did so enthusiastically. He taught me more about linguistics, and gave helpful comments
and suggestions concerning the analysis and presentation.
Right from the start of working with me, David had the encouraging words I
needed to believe that I actually would finish this. He taught me more about linguistics
and writing, and he encouraged me to look for what is really significant in the analysis.
I want to thank my friends working in Papua New Guinea, particularly Dr. Robert
Bugenhagen and Dr. Cinthia Farr. Bob read the Awara Grammar Essentials (a paper I am
writing), directed me to some of the important literature, and gave helpful comments and
suggestions which have also influenced the thesis. Cindi has encouraged me and given
me some good ideas about the language while we've gone for walks.
I want to thank the Awara people for inviting my husband and me to be part of
their community. They have shared their language and their lives with us. Some have also
recorded stories on tape, and some have even set aside time to teach us their language.
xiii
My husband, Ed, has been a wonderful help to me as I have studied and written
about Awara. He's taught me most of what I know about the computer and the software
we use, and he's been there to find solutions when I had problems with it. He's listened as
I shared with him my ideas about the Awara language, and he's shared with me what he's
been learning about it.
Most of all I want to thank my friend Jesus Christ, who has been with me all
along. It's because of him that I have had the privilege of studying linguistics, of getting
to know some wonderful teachers, and of working in the Awara community. And it is
because of him that I am able to write this. Many friends spoke to him on my behalf, and
he gave me the guidance and the courage I needed to finish it.
xiv
ABSTRACT
Awara is a language in the Wantoat family spoken by the Awara people of Papua
New Guinea. Though it has been mentioned in papers written about the Finisterre-Huon
languages and about the Wantoat language (another language in the Wantoat family), it
has not been described in depth.
This paper presents a description of the verbal system of the Awara language. The
major grammatical constructions described are 1) the verbal morphology, 2) serial-verb
constructions, 3) clause chaining, and 4) subordination.

Interesting aspects of the language shown here are 1) the variety of clause types
based on the type of subject-indexing suffix, if any, used on the clause and 2) the variety
of structures and functions of serial-verb constructions.
Awara also shows the need to make the distinctions between certain categories of
clauses. The switch-reference system in Awara shows a distinction between the
"reference" clause, with respect to which switch-reference subject-indexing is marked,
and the finite clause, on which the marked clause depends for tense or modality. Awara
also shows the need to distinguish the concepts of subordination and dependency. Awara
has two kinds of dependent clauses: 1) subordinate clauses, which are ignored by the
switch-reference marking of the clauses around them, and 2) cosubordinate clauses,
which participate in the switch-reference system and also have a distinct morphological
pattern from subordinate clauses and from independent clauses.
xv
1 INTRODUCTION
The Awara people live in the Awara Census Division of Kaiapit District in the
northwest corner of Morobe Province in Papua New Guinea. (See Figure 1.) For local
government administration, the Awara villages are divided into northern, central, and
southern regions. The fieldwork upon which this description is based was conducted in
Guningwan (written Gunigwän in the Awara orthography), a hamlet of Tawaya (Täwayä)

village, which is in the central region, east of the Leron River. This paper reflects the
variety of Awara spoken in the central region.
PAPUA NEW GUINEA

Wewak
Manam Island
Sepik River
Wabag BISMARCK SEA

Madang
Mt. Hagen
Awara Langu age
Mendi Goroka
Ukarumpa
Lae
Fly River
Popondetta
Daru
PORT MILNE
MORESBY BAY
CORAL SEA
Figure 1 General Locality Map1
1
I wish to express my gratitude to Ed Quigley for designing these maps.
1
2
Awara is a Papuan language of the Trans-New Guinea phylum, Finisterre-Huon

Stock, Wantoat Family (Wurm 1981). It was previously classified as a dialect of the
Wantoat language, with the Ethnologue designator WNC (Grimes 1988), but is now
classified as a related language, with the designator AWX (Grimes 1996). The Wantoat
family consists of six languages. Of these, only the Wantoat and Wapu-Hiwan languages
are linguistically close enough to Awara to allow any communication. (See figure 2.)
Figure 2 Language Map
There are several published descriptions of different aspects of the Wantoat

language. Davis 1969 describes Wantoat phonemes and notes examples of how Awara
differs. Davis 1964 discusses Wantoat verb affixes: their allomorphs, their co-occurrence
restrictions, and their functions. Davis 1972 describes the morphophonemics, phrase
structure, and clause structure of Wantoat. Davis 1973 tells how medial verbs, tail-head
linkage, and serial verbs are used to connect clauses and sentences within the paragraph.
3
This paper is based on data gathered during visits to Tawaya village from July
1994 to the present. Most of the data consist of individual sentences and approximately
2.5 hours of tape-recorded texts, including narrative, procedural, hortatory, and
expository texts. Our main language consultants were Titi Silingwaka (male, age ≈ 50),
Ngawingom Giwisa (male, age ≈ 35), and Yakiting Bana (male, age ≈ 25) from Tawaya
village, and Yangumalu Yakumtung (male, age ≈ 45) and Ngasingom Lingatu (male, age
≈ 35) from Yapurak (Yäpuläk) village.
This paper presents a description of the verbal system of the Awara language.
Chapters 2 and 3 are overviews of the morphophonemic processes and syntax of Awara.
Chapter 4 distinguishes active clauses from stative clauses and independent clauses from
dependent clauses. In the discussion on dependent clauses, it distinguishes cosubordinate
clauses, which are involved in clause chains, from subordinate clauses, which are used as
complements and adverbial clauses. Chapter 5 presents modal nouns, which take non-
finite clausal complements. Chapter 6 presents verb subcategories based on
morphological pattern, valence, and inherent aspect. Chapter 7 presents derivational and
inflectional verbal morphology, making reference to clause types and verb subcategories
presented in the previous two chapters. Chapter 8 presents the uses of complement and
adverbial clauses. Chapter 9 shows how cosubordinate clauses followed by postpositions
differ from subordinate clauses. Chapter 10 discusses negation in relation to clause
breaks and modal nouns. Chapter 11 distinguishes serial-verb constructions from clause
chains and describes the different types of serial-verb constructions.
2 BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF PHONOLOGY2
This chapter presents a brief overview of the phonology and major
morphophonemic processes of Awara. The purpose is to make the reader aware of some
of the complexities of the phonological system so as to be better able to understand the
examples in the rest of the paper.
Standard phonetic symbols are used in this chapter to represent the phonemes of
Awara, alongside the practical orthography which is used in the remainder of the paper.
2.1 Phonemes and Orthography
The following tables show the phonemes using their orthographic representation,
with phonetic symbols in parentheses next to them when different. The voiced stops /b, d,
g, and gw/ are prenasalized, particularly after vowels.
Table 1 Vowel Phonemes

front central back
high i u
mid e ä (Å) o
low a
Table 2 Consonant Phonemes

Bilabial Alveolar Palatal Labialized Velar Velar Glottal
Stop (Plosive) p t kw k
b d gw g
Nasal m n ngw (˜w) ng (˜)
Fricative s h
Approximate w y (j) x (W)
Lateral l
The letters <f> and<j> (dÇ) are included in the orthography but are not part of the
native Awara phonemic inventory. They are used in words borrowed from Melanesian
Pidgin and English (e.g. Fonde 'Thursday' and Jems 'James').
2
See Edward C. Quigley's Awara Phonology Essentials (in preparation) for an analysis of the phonology
and morphophonemic processes.
4
5
2.2 Morphophonemic Processes
The following is a general description of the major morphophonemic processes of

Awara. This is not an ordered listing of phonological rules to account for the Awara
phonological system. Rather, it presents the major types of allomorphy found throughout
the body of the paper.3
VOICING changes the voicing of the stops /k p t/ to /g b d/ after consonants. For
example, =ka '2s genitive' is unvoiced after the vowel in puyÅ=ka 'your garden' and
voiced after the consonants in ming=ga 'your mother' and ok=ga 'your uncle'. This rule
applies only word-medially.
POINT OF ARTICULATION ASSIMILATION causes the point of articulation of stops

and nasals to assimilate to that of an immediately preceding consonant. Some morphemes
have only velar-initial and alveolar-initial allomorphs. For example, =ka '2s genitive' is
velar-initial after a vowel or velar (shown above) and alveolar-initial after the alveolars in
sadun=da 'your axe' and hiput=da 'your stick', and also after the bilabials in mom=da
'your aunt' and payip=da 'your machete'. Other morphemes also have bilabial-initial
allomorphs. The initial consonant of =kÅt 'with' is velar in Dabu=kÅt 'with Dabung' and
Kipi=kÅt 'with Kipik', alveolar in Ame=tÅt 'with Amen' and teã=tÅt /teãt=kÅt/4 'with
nephew', and bilabial in Ukwa=pÅt 'with Ukwam' and Kisi=pÅt 'with Kisip'. This rule
applies word-medially.
HOMORGANIC NASAL DELETION causes some nasals to be deleted when followed

by a homorganic, unvoiced stop. This process occurs word-medially and across word
boundaries within the phrase. The examples of =kÅt 'with' above show this.
HOMORGANIC STOP DELETION5 causes a stop (plosive) to be deleted when followed
by a homorganic, unvoiced stop or fricative. This process occurs word-medially and
across word boundaries within the phrase. The examples of =kÅt with' above show this.
3
A table showing the allomorphs of unvoiced stop–initial suffixes and clitics is provided in the appendix.
4
Underlying forms of morphemes are shown in backslashes when they are not evident from the surface
form or the gloss.
5
The reason for positing homorganic nasal deletion and homorganic stop deletion as separate processes is
that morphemes that condition one do not necessarily condition the other. For example, the morpheme –pit
6
STOP LENITION softens the unvoiced stops /k p t/ to /W w l/ between vowels. This

process occurs word-initially and word-medially at morpheme boundaries. For example,
=kÅt begins with a stop following consonants (as shown above), and begins with a
continuant following the vowel in Koni=WÅt 'with Koni'. Another example is the verb
suffix –pit '1s future' which begins with a stop following the stop in ako–pit /akop–pit/ 'I
will come up', and with a continuant following the vowel in ku–wit 'I will go'. If a pause
precedes the stop, lenition is blocked. Note that the initial stop of some clitics and some
suffixes never lenites after vowels. Rather, it is unvoiced after vowels and voiced after
consonants as described in VOICING above.
S-LENITION causes morpheme-initial /s/ to be softened to /y/ between vowels. This

process occurs only word-medially. For example, –so '2s default imperative' begins with
/s/ in akop–so 'come up' and /y/ in ku–yo 'go'.
H-FORTITION causes morpheme-initial /h/ to be strengthened to /s/ after a
consonant. This process takes place only word-medially. For example, –him '1d future'
begins with /h/ in ku–him 'we will go' and with /s/ in akop–sim 'we will come up'.
U-DELETION causes morpheme-initial /u/ to be deleted after vowels. This process
takes place only word-medially. For example, =une 'locative' begins with /u/ after the
consonant in yol=une /yot=une/ 'at home', and the /u/ is deleted after the vowel in
yaga=ne 'at the water'.
PALATAL NASALIZATION causes /y/ to be nasalized when it immediately follows a

consonant. For example, =yÅ 'after' begins with /y/ after most vowels6 as in ku–wa=yÅ
'after I go', and nasal after consonants as in ku–kumÅk=˜Å 'after we went', ku–kut=nÅ
'after he went', and ku–kum=nÅ 'after I went'. This process occurs only word-medially.
'1s future' causes stop deletion in ako–pit /akop–pit/ 'come up–1s future', but it does not cause nasal
deletion in mum–bit 'throw–1s future'.
6
There are two exceptions. It is =˜Å after the vowels in –ke=˜Å 'SS"perfective=after' and –hika=˜Å
'SS"durative perfective=after'.
7
2.3 Tables Showing Variation in Verbs
To illustrate the range of morphophonemic variation in the language, several

tables of verb forms will now be given. The rows across show the variation in the verb
stems as a result of the suffixes following them, and the columns down show the
variation in the suffixes and their effects on the preceding segments.
The first column shows the second singular IMMEDIATE IMERATIVE form of the
verb which (normally) ends with /˜/, /t/, or /p/. The table is arranged according to these
final segments. The second column shows the verb before –nim '1p future'. The third
column shows it before –k '3s present'.7 The fourth shows it before –ga 'singular dynamic
imperfective'. The fifth shows it before –kut '3s past', the sixth before –pik '3s future', the
seventh before –him '1d future' and the eighth before –so '2s default imperative'.
Table 3 Template for Tables Showing Variation in Verbs

–Ø –nim –k –ga –kut –him –pik –so
'2s.Imm' '1p.Fut' '3s.Pr' 's.DIpf' '3s.Pst' '1d.Fut' '3s.Fut' '2s.DImp'
The suffixes –nim, –kut, –him,–pik, and –so are representative of other verb
suffixes beginning with those consonants. The suffix –k '3s present' is representative of
the PRESENT TENSE suffixes in that verb stems end in a vowel when followed by them.
The suffix –ga 'singular dynamic imperfective' and the object prefixes in the
BENEFACTIVE compounds are similar in that t-final and p-final verb stems end in /k/ when
followed by them.8
The following table shows six verbs: two ˜-final stems, two t-final stems and two
p-final stems. The ˜-final stems have only vowel-final forms when followed by other
suffixes, and the initial consonant of p-initial and s-initial suffixes lenites following the
verb stem. The t-final stems end in /t/ before nasals, /k/ before –ga, and a vowel before
most other suffixes, and the initial consonant of p-initial and s-initial suffixes lenites
7
PRESENT TENSE suffixes are –t '1s present', –lÅk '2s present' –k '3s present' –mÅk '1d present', –mÅlÅk
'23d"present', –mÅng '1p present, and –yi˜ '23p present'.
8
In BENEFACTIVE compounds the main verb stem is followed by the verb mi˜ 'give' with the object prefix
of mi˜ occurring between the main verb stem and mi˜. The object prefixes in these compounds are ã–
'1sO', ga– '2sO', ˜Å–'3sO, ni– '1pO', da– '2pO', and yÅ– '3pO'.
8
following the verb stem. The fortition of /h/ to /s/ in –him and other /h/-initial suffixes
indicates the presence of the stem-final /t/, but the /t/ is deleted before /s/. The p-final
verb stems end in /p/ before most suffixes, and in /k/ before –ga. The /p/ is deleted before
p-initial suffixes. The /p/ also causes the following /k/ to be voiced and assimilate to the
bilabial point of articulation (as in –kut/–but) 9 and it causes the following /h/ to be
strengthened to /s/ (as in –him/–sim).
Table 4 ˜–, t–, and p– Final Verbs

ku˜ ku–nim ku–k ku–ga–k ku–kut ku–him ku–wik ku–yo
'go'
ya˜ ya–nim ya–k ya–ga–k ya–kut ya–him ya–wik ye–yo
'say'
halut halut–nim halu–k haluk–ga–k halu–kut halu–sim halu–wik halu–yo
'wash'
sit sit–nim si–k sik–ga–k si–kut si–sim si–wik si–yo
'open'
taõp taõp–nim taõ–k taõk–ga–k taõp–but taõp–sim taõ–pik taõp–so
'drink'
utdop utdop–nim utdo–k utdok–ga–k utdop–but utdop–sim utdo–pik utdop–so
'remove'
The following are some verbs that do not quite fit the patterns above. The verb
mut 'throw' is similar to the t-final verbs above, except that after it, p-initial suffixes are
voiced rather than lenited.
Table 5 mut 'throw'

mut mut–nim mu–k muk–ga–k mu–kut mu–sim mu–bik mu–yo
'throw'
The verb mi˜ 'give' is similar to the ˜-final verbs above, but when it is followed
by any of the p-initial suffixes, both the vowel in the root and the final velar are deleted,
as well as the initial /p/ of the suffix. In addition, the 2s IMMEDIATE IMPERATIVE form of
/na–mi˜/ 'give me' lacks the vowel and coda of the stem.
9
The suffix -ka 'plural dynamic imperfective' is an exception. It does not have a /b/-initial allomorph as
–kut '3s past' and other k-initial suffixes do.
9
Table 6 mi˜ 'give'

i–mi˜ i–mi–ni˜ i–mi–k i–mi–ga–k i–mi–kut i–mi–him i–m–ik i–mi–yo
'give me'
na–m na–mi–ni˜ na–mi–k na–mi–ga–k na–mi–kut ––––––– na–m–ik na–mi–yo
'give me'
The motion verbs ending in /p/ differ from the p-final verbs described above in
that they have vowel-final stems before –ga. With akop 'come up', this is formed by
deletion of the /p/, while with ap 'come' and ep 'come down', it is formed by an epenthetic
/u/.
Table 7 p-Final Motion Verbs

akop akop–nim ako–k ako–ga–k akop–but akop–sim ako–pik akop–so
'come up'
ap ap–nim apu–k apu–ga–k ap–but ap–sim a–pik ap–so
'come'
ep ep–nim epu–k epu–ga–k ep–but ep–sim e–pik ep–so
'come down'
Some verbs have forms with one syllable and two syllables. The second syllable
has the forms /mÅ˜/ and /mÅ/; /mÅ˜/ is used with the second singular IMMEDIATE
IMPERATIVE, and /mÅ/ is used with the PRESENT TENSE and –ga. The one-syllable form is
used with the k-initial, h-initial, p-initial, and s-initial suffixes. Its coda is either /p/ or
/m/. Following the coda /k/ is voiced and assimilates to the bilabial point of articulation,
and /h/ is strengthened to /s/. The coda is deleted before p-initial suffixes. (The nasal coda
is also deleted before the second syllable of the stem, as in te.mÅ˜ 'write'.)
10
Table 8 Verbs with Monosyllabic and Disyllabic Stems

bupmÅ˜ bup–nim bupmÅ–k bupmÅ–ga–k bup–but bup–sim bu–pik bup–so
'sew'
ihapmÅ˜ ihap–nim ihapmÅ–k ihapmÅ–ga–k ihap–but ihap–sim iha–pik ihap–so
'run'
temÅ˜ tem–nim temÅ–k temÅ–ga–k tem–but tem–sim te–pit tem–so
'write'
amÅ˜ am–nim amÅ–k amÅ–ga–k am–but am–sim a–pik am–so
'fight'
The verb ku˜Å˜10 'die' is similar to the verb stems that have two forms and /m/ in
the coda of the first syllable except that its second syllable is /˜Å/ rather than /mÅ/.
Table 9 ku˜Å˜ 'die'

–Ø –nim –k –ga –kut –him –pik –sÅk
'2s.Imm' '1p.Fut' '3s.Pr' 's.DIpf' '3s.Pst' '1d.Fut' '3s.Fut' '3s.Appr'11
?? kum–nim ku˜Å–k ku˜Å–ga–k kum–but kum–sim ku–pik kum–sÅk
'die'
10
Some Tawaya speakers labialize velars following /u/ as in ku˜wÅ–k 'die-3s"present 'he died', ku–gwa–k
'go–singular dynamic imperfective–3s"present ' 'he is going', and tukwatde 'afternoon'.
11
The suffix –sÅk '3s apprehension' is used in place of –so '2s default"imperative' with the verb ku˜Å˜ 'die'
in Table 9 since people do not normally tell someone to die.
3 OVERVIEW OF SYNTAX AND MORPHOLOGY
This chapter presents a brief overview of some of the grammatical structures in
Awara. Items presented here that will be discussed later in the paper are verb morphology
and the distinction between medial-verb and final-verb suffixes, serial-verb constructions,
and the use of postpositions in subordinating clauses.
In addition, I mention basic constituent order, anaphoric pro-verbs based on ting

'be', noun classifiers, and the use of postpositions for marking arguments of the verb.
These are not discussed elsewhere in the paper, but this information is helpful for
understanding the examples given throughout the paper.
3.1 Clauses
The basic order of constituents in the Awara clause is SOV.
1 Subject ––––––––Object––––– Verb

Silas=dä Yalabing=ge wätä wamä–ngä–mi–k.
Silas=Abl Yalambing=Dat sore tie–3sO–give–3s.Pr
Silas bandaged Yalambing's sore.
Arguments and other constituents may be marked with postpositions, which are
phonologically bound to the preceding word as clitics. Examples are the subject of the
transitive verb in (1) marked with =tä 'ablative' (Abl), the possessor marked with =te
'dative' (Dat), and the location in (2) below marked with =une 'locative' (Loc).
2 Nä wuyä=ne ku–ga–t.
1s garden=Loc go–s.DIpf–1s.Pr
I'm going to the garden.
There is no postposition marking direct objects and usually none marking subjects of
intransitive clauses, as can be seen in (1) and (2).
Awara clauses can be categorized according to what kind of predicate they have
(active versus stative), and whether or not they can stand alone as a complete sentence
(independent versus dependent). Dependent clauses can be further sub-categorized
11
12
according to their relationship to the clause on which they depend (cosubordinate versus
subordinate). Sentences (1) and (2) above are examples of independent clauses, and
subordinate clauses are introduced in section 3.4. All of these clause types are further
explained in chapter 4.
3.2 Verbs
Verb morphology is described in detail in chapter 7. The following are a few
major aspects of the inflectional morphology.

Awara uses verb suffixes to show aspect, mood, tense, and subject-indexing. For
example, –ga indicates dynamic imperfective aspect (3), –so indicates second person
singular subject default imperative (4), and –kut indicates third person singular subject
past tense (5).
3 Säne ku–ga–läk?
where go–s.DIpf–2s.Pr
Where are you going?
4 A=sing hikngä wam–so.

this=like really tie–2s.DImp
Tie it just like this.
5 Bakudupi ku–kut.
Bakudupi go–3s.Pst
She went to Bakundupi
Awara has two major types of subject-indexing suffixes. Final-verb suffixes are
used on independent clauses, which are normally the final clause in the sentence (6).
These suffixes also indicate mood or tense.
6 Wätä ti–wi=n kasot=da akop–ning.

sore be–2s.DS=Dis leg.gland=2s.Gen come.up–23p.Fut
If you have a sore (on your leg), the glands at the top of your leg will come up (swell).
Medial-verb suffixes are used on certain dependent clauses, typically non-final,

and indicate whether the clause in which they occur has the same subject or a different
subject as a following clause. In (7) the suffix –ke 'same subject perfective' ('SS
perfective') is used on a medial clause and indicates that it has the same subject as the
following clause. In (8) the suffix –pän '3s different subject' ('3s DS') is used on a medial
13
clause and indicates that its subject is third person singular, and that the following clause
has a different subject.
7 Ku–ke ap–so.
go–SS.Pf come–2s.DImp
You go and come back.
8 Ako–pän=ä ku–him.
come.up–3s.DS=after go–1d.Fut
When she comes up, she and I will go.
Though the independent or main clause is normally the final clause in the
sentence, dependent clauses can be dislocated to the right of the main clause.
Nevertheless, I call the type of subject-indexing suffix used on the main clause a final-
verb suffix (9).
9 Halu–ke p–e–na yä–ha–ka–ying, gusit

wash–SS.Pf pO–leave–1p.DS 3pO–burn–p.DIpf–23p.Pr sun
ti–wän=un.
be–3s.DS=Dis
We wash them and put them out and they dry, if it's sunny.
The final-verb suffixes are also used on subordinate clauses. These clauses
normally precede the main verb. For example, the first clause in (10) has a final-verb
suffix, and it is subordinated to the following verb by the postpositional clitic =te 'dative'.
10 … [wuyä ip–it]=de ku–kum.

garden cut–1s.Fut=Dat go–1s.Pst
… and I went to cut a new garden.
The distinction between medial verbs and subordinate final verbs is discussed in
section 4.4.
Awara uses prefixes on certain transitive verbs to indicate the number and
sometimes the person of the object.12
11 Ingut=dä na–ha–ga–k.
fly=Abl 1sO–bite–s.DIpf–3s.Pr
A mosquito bit me.
12
Only a few verbs take these prefixes. Most verbs that subcategorize for an optional object noun phrase
do not take object prefixes.
14
12 Iwak=gä ga–ha–k?
leach=Abl 2sO–bite–3s.Pr
Did a leach bite you?
These prefixes are obligatory for these verbs and are used in addition to a co-
referential noun phrase, which is optional. Some verbs, such as ning 'tell' (13) and
nidämut 'teach' (14), require an accusative object with no postposition, while others such
as ming 'give' require a dative object with =te 'dative' (15).
13 … milibiyang i–ni–kum.
deaconess 3sO–tell 1s.Pst
… and I told the deaconess.
14 ming=in yä–nidämum–bä …
mother=1p.Gen 3pO–teach–23p.DS
… and they taught our mothers and …
15 Puyä ga=le ga–mi–ka–mäng.

work 2s=Dat 2sO–give–s.DIpf–1p.Pr
We are giving you work.
Awara uses a special form of verb compounding for indexing the person and
number of the benefactive argument on the verb. In these benefactive compounds, the
verb ming 'give' is compounded to the right of the main verb stem. Ming requires an
object-indexing prefix immediately preceding it. This object prefix immediately follows
the main verb root and indicates the person and number of the benefactee. In the
examples below, ming and its object prefix are compounded to gatäng 'help'.
16 Takeläpä, gä=tä gatä–nga–mi–yo.

Lord 2s=Abl help–1sO–give–2s.DImp
Lord, help me.
17 Imin gatang–yä–mi–t?
who help–3pO–give–1s.Pr
Who shall I help?
Other analyses of this benefactive construction are discussed in 7.1.2.
3.3 Serial-Verb Constructions
Awara has serial-verb constructions, which use two or more verbs to describe
complex events. Some have a verb stem followed by another verb (18), while others have
a verb with a DIFFERENT SUBJECT suffix followed by another verb (19). Daying yiwit
15
'see"3pO stay' is a serial-verb construction meaning 'look after them' (18), and
ut!kungwäng 'hit"die' is a different-subject serial-verb construction meaning 'kill'.
18 Amin=dä ap–ä kätak daying yiwi–ke towi–yo.

person=Abl come–23p.DS exactly see.3pO stay–SS.Pf care–2s.DImp
When people come, look after them well and care for them.
19 Däki a=bä tang–ut–na ku–pik.

fire PFocus=Dub 3sO–hit–1p.DS die–3s.Fut
Maybe we'll kill the fire.
The various types of serial-verb constructions are described in chapter 11.
3.4 Subordinate-Dependent Clauses
Awara has two kinds of subordinate-dependent clauses: 1) non-finite clauses

which function as the complement of a modal noun such as =nage 'purpose' (20) and 2)
finite clauses with final-verb subject-indexing suffixes that are subordinated by a
postposition such as =te 'dative' (21) or =ngu 'conditional' (22)13 or the quotative
complementizer =yang.
20 Le=tä [Wadot akop]=nage Giyamalu=xät akop–bumäk.

Lae=Abl Wantoat come.up=purpose Giyamalu=with come.up–1d.Pst
From Lae, I came up with Giyamalu to come up to Wantoat.
21 [Matekngä hikngä p–ä–ka–kut]=de matekngä na–na

small real pO–take–p.DIpf–3s.Pst=Dat small eat–1p.DS
take do=li–kut.
good Neg=be–3s.Pst
Since he used to bring very little, we ate little and it was not enough (good).
22 Ti–ke [u=sing t–aha–wiläx]=u ga–du–pä

be–SS.Pf that=like sO–do–2s.Fut=Cond 2sO–see–23p.DS
take do=li–wik.
good Neg=be–3s.Fut
But if you do that, they will see you as not good. (lit., They will see you and it will not be
good.)
The structure of subordinate clauses is described in section 4.4.1, and the

functions of subordinate clauses are described in chapter 8.
13
Finite clauses also function as relative clauses—a topic not considered in this paper, but see 3.7 for
examples.
16
3.5 Anaphoric Pro-verbs Based on ting 'be'
Awara uses the verb ting 'be' with various aspect and medial-verb suffixes to
introduce sentences and to indicate how the sentence is related to previous material. The
use of medial-verb suffixes on ting differs from that for medial clauses shown in (3.2)
above in that the subject of ting does not directly reflect that of the preceding verb.
Rather, the subject-indexing on ting is either same-subject or third person singular
different-subject, depending on whether the clause preceding it and the clause following
it have the same subject or different subjects.
For example, in (23) ti–ke has a SAME SUBJECT suffix because the subject of the
verb preceding it and the subject of the verb following it are the same (we). In (24)
ti–wän has the third person singular DIFFERENT SUBJECT suffix, because the subject of the
verb preceding it (I) and the subject of the verb following it (Gilingdeng) are different.
23 Gwen=duyi=ne nomän t–aha–ka–mäng. Ti–ke

Cl.lump=some=Loc good sO–do–p.DIpf–1p.Pr be–SS.Pf
gwen=duyi=ne nomän=u do=l–aha–ka–mäng.

Cl.lump=some=Loc good=Top Neg=sO–do–p.DIpf–1p.Pr
Sometimes we do what is right. And sometimes we don't do what is right.
24 Ti–wän nä do=xa–kum Gilingdeng=un.

be–3s.DS 1s Neg=see.3sO–1s.Pst Gilingde=Dis
Ti–wän Gilingdeng=u ama kep däkä=ne apu–xa–wän …

be–3s.DS Gilingde=Top down ground Cl.thick=Loc come–SIpf–3s.DS
Well, I didn't see him, Gilingdeng. And Gilingdeng was coming along on the ground
below, …
These pro-verbs function on a discourse level to show the temporal and logical
relationships between clauses. But because their analysis is beyond the scope of this
thesis, they are simply glossed with English conjunctions such as 'and', 'but', 'so', and
'then'.
3.6 Classifiers
Awara has a noun classification system with almost thirty classifiers. Most
classifiers give some indication of the physical shape or arrangement of the item named
by the noun. For example, täpä 'Cl.stick' refers to things that are basically long and rigid
17
like a stick. Gwen 'Cl.lump' refers to things that have roughly the same size in all
dimensions. Täknga 'Cl.rope' refers to things that are long and flexible.
Table 10 Classifiers
Awara Gloss Meaning
däki täpä wood Cl.stick pole
wäwi täpä man Cl.stick man
yot gwen house Cl.lump house
towiyä gwen pig Cl.lump pig
homu gwen dog Cl.lump dog
nap täknga vine Cl.rope vine
gomok käknga14 snake Cl.rope snake
Nouns may be used with various classifiers to clarify their usage. For example,
yagä 'water' can be used with täpä 'stick' to refer to a river, with gwen 'lump' to refer to a
pond, or with täknga 'rope' to refer to a drink.
Classifiers are also used with certain nouns to produce abstract concepts.
Table 11 Classifiers with Abstract Nouns

Awara Gloss Meaning
klismas täpä year Cl.stick year
klismas gwen year Cl.lump year
gusit gwen sun Cl.lump day (also sun)
wam täknga word Cl.rope speech
meyä täknga heavy Cl.rope problem
tukwatde täknga afternoon Cl.rope afternoon
3.7 Classifier and Noun Phrases
Both classifier phrases and noun phrases may function as arguments, as objects of
postpositions, and as predicate complements.
Classifier phrases contain a classifier and require at least one of the following: a
noun phrase which functions as the complement to the classifier (25), a demonstrative
(26), or a quantifier (27). Noun phrases precede the classifier. Demonstratives are
phonologically bound to the left of the classifier, and quantifiers are phonologically
bound to the right of the classifier.
14
Though, in this paper, classifiers are written as though they were separate words, they are often
phonologically bound to the classifier phrase constituent immediately preceding them. Evidence for this is
the point of articulation assimilation process which applies to classifiers beginning with /t/, yielding the
forms täknga and käknga.
18
25 Kwawit gwen=dä=bä ya–ga–k.

bird Cl.lump=Abl=Dub say–s.DIpf–3s.Pr
Maybe a bird is calling.
26 … u=gwen=u ep–but.
that=Cl.lump=Top come.down–3s.Pst
… and that one (stone) came down (after us.)
27 gwen=du a=de–kut=nä ka–ke …

Cl.lump=one PFocus=detach–3s.Pst=after see.3sO–SS.Pf
… and I saw that one (trap) had fallen and …
When the classifier phrase includes a demonstrative (28) or a numeral (29) in

addition to the noun phrase, the noun phrase is marked with =u 'linker'. The /u/ is deleted
after vowels, so it does not show up on the noun phrase däki (30).
28 yol=u a=gwen
house=Lnk this=Cl.lump
this house
29 yol=u kalux=u gwen=du

house=Lnk new=Lnk Cl.lump=one
one new house
30 däki u=ha=nal=u
wood that=Cl.sheet=two.Def=Top
those two planks
Noun phrases may have a possessor preceding the noun which is a postpositional
phrase using the same dative postpositional clitic that is used to mark indirect objects.
(31). 15 Modifiers such as attributive nouns, postpositional phrases, and relative clauses
follow the noun (32).
31 engang=ge nak
child=Dat food
the children's food
32 sugum=u mängälä=tä p–ä–kin=u

sweet.potato=Lnk woman=Abl pO–take–23p.Pst=Top
the sweet potatoes which the women took
When the noun is followed by a modifier, it is marked with =u 'linker' as shown

in examples (29) and (32) above and (33) below.
15
There is another postposition that less commonly is used to mark possessors: =täne 'possessor' which is
also used as a complementizer with certain verbs (see 8.1). For lack of a better gloss I have labled this
'possessor', even though, in fact, it is not the most common way of marking possessors.
19
33 Wam=u nomän ya–ke yiwi–son.

word=Lnk good say–SS.Pf stay–23d.DImp
Speak good words and live together.
The noun phrase may lack a head noun and consist only of a modifier such as a
postpositional phrase (34) or a relative clause (35).
34 Säne nanä=tä apu g–u–kin?

where from=Abl come 2sO–hit–23p.Pst
(People) from where came and killed you.
35 … yol=une yiwi–kin=dä duksäng yango–ke …

village=Loc stay–23p.Pst=Abl much yell–SS.Pf
those who were at home yelled out strong, and …
In addition, longer modifiers such as relative clauses may precede the noun (36).
The preceding modifier is not followed by =u.
36 Yabim natä–xa–ying amin=u

Yabim understand–SIpf–23p.Pr person=Top
people who understand Yabim
The linker =u is homophonous with a related clitic =u 'topic'. The difference is

that =u 'linker' occurs within the noun or classifier phrase and is used to indicate the
syntactic relationship of constituents within the phrase, while =u 'topic' follows the noun
or classifier phrase and is used to show the pragmatic status of clausal constituents.
Examples of =u 'topic' at the end of the noun phrase or classifier phrase are found in (26),
(30), (32), and (36) above.

Genitive clitics indicating the person and number of the possessor may follow the
head noun in the noun phrase (37) or the whole classifier phrase (38).
37 Kakäluk=ga mängälä gwen tang–u–kin?

chicken=2s.Gen female Cl.lump 3sO–hit–23p.Pst
Did they kill your hen?
38 Kakälux=u mängälä gwen=da tang–u–kin?

chicken=Lnk female Cl.lump=2s.Gen 3sO–hit–23p.Pst
Did they kill your hen?
20
3.8 Postpositions
Awara uses postpositional clitics to show several kinds of relationships: the

relationship of nominals to the verb, of nominals to other nominals, and of subordinate
clauses to the main clause. Here I briefly describe the uses of only three of them
following nominals: =tä 'ablative', =te 'dative', and =une 'locative'.
=Tä 'ablative' (Abl) is used to mark the subject of a transitive verb16 (39), the
instrument (40), and (movement) 'from' (41).
39 … guyä=na=tä gäpma bungep kwayi–kut.

father=1s.Gen=Abl hole trap dig–3s.Pst
… and my father dug a hole trap.
40 … gayät=dä mata–ka–kin.
axe.trad=Abl cut–p.DIpf–23p.Pst
… and they would cut it with a traditional axe.
41 Nä Bakudupi=tä apu–ga–t.
1s Bakundupi=Abl come–s.DIpf–1s.Pr
I am coming from Bakundupi.
=Te 'dative' (Dat) is used to show the following relationships to the verb: the
recipient (42), benefactee (43), purpose (44), and 'towards' (45).
42 … kawut=du nä=le na–mi–kut.

Cl.part=one 1s=Dat 1sO–give–3s.Pst
… and he gave part of it to me.
43 Pigu p–aha–ngä–mi–ke awä nä=le do=w–aha–nga–mi–kut

top pO–do–3sO–give–SS.Pf and 1s=Dat Neg=pO–do–1sO–give–3s.Pst
gwen=du=n.
Cl.lump=one=Dis
He made a top for him, but he didn't make one for me.
44 Ti–ke=ngu kälap=de ku–ka–kut.

be–SS.Pf=Cond animal=Dat go–p.DIpf–3s.Pst
And he would go up for meat.
45 Ayi Kedi=le ko–ke …

up Kaindi=Dat go.up–SS.Pf
We went up towards Kaindi Mountain and …
16
Thus Awara could be analyzed as having an ergative case marking system, although =tä does sometimes
occur on intransitive subjects.
21
=Te also signals certain relations between two nominals that belong to the same
noun phrase. In (46) it marks the possessor noun phrase, and in (47) the precise
relationship it marks is undetermined.
46 Ti–wän do=ya–ka–ying, ay=ä=le uman=un.

be–3s.DS Neg=say–p.DIpf–23p.Pr husband=3.Gen=Dat name=Dis
So they don't say their husband's name.
47 Wadot=de kahit täpä kop–bumäk.

Wantoat=Dat road Cl.stick go.up–1d.Pst
We went up the Wantoat road.
=Une 'locative' ('Loc') is used for locations (48), goals (49), and times (50).
48 Lutelen=de yol=une pe–kumäng.

Lutheran=Dat house=Loc sleep–1p.Pst
… and we slept at the Lutheran (guest) house.
49 Hipdu yol=une ap–bumäng.

again village=Loc come–1p.Pst
We came back to the village.
50 [Tude gwen=du]=ne Dakupi ku–kum.

Tuesday Cl.lump=one=Loc Dakupi go–1s.Pst
One Tuesday I went to Dakupi.
4 CLAUSE TYPES
As mentioned in chapter 3, Awara clauses can be categorized according to what
kind of predicate they have (active versus stative), and whether or not they can stand
alone as a complete sentence (independent versus dependent). Dependent clauses can be
further sub-categorized according to their relationship to the clause on which they depend
(cosubordinate versus subordinate).17
4.1 Active Clauses
Active clauses are headed by non-copular verbs that typically carry subject-
indexing suffixes. Some examples of such non-copular verbs are transitive verbs (51),
motion verbs (52), involuntary processes (53, 54), and weather verbs (55).
51 Sibut muha=tu=kän na–yo.

cake Cl.wad=one=only eat–2s.DImp
Eat only one cake.
52 Apu–ga–läk?
Come–s.DIpf–2s.Pr
Are you coming?
53 Payiw=u däkä=yalä=tä pu–mäläk.

machete=Lnk Cl.thick=two=Abl break–23d.Pr
The two machetes broke.
54 Yiwi–hika yiwi–hika apme hikngä=yä taka–kum.

stay–SS.DurPf stay–SS.DurPf later real=after improve–1s.Pst
I stayed and stayed and much later I got better.
55 Hopä a=la–ga–k.
rain PFocus=rain–s.DIpf–3s.Pr
It's raining (lit., The rain is raining.)
17
The distinctions between dependent/independent and subordinate/cosubordinate is based on Van Valin
and LaPolla 1997:454. Foley's explanation of clause chaining in Foley 1986:175–77 is similar except that
he called Van Valin's cosubordinate clauses "coordinate dependent".
22
23
4.2 Stative Clauses
There are three kinds of stative clauses: 1) those headed by a non-verbal

predicate, 2) those headed by a non-inflecting existential verb, and 3) those headed by a
copular verb.
4.2.1 Stative Clauses with Non–Verbal Predicates

The following stative clauses have only a subject and a non-verbal predicate.
There are two types of non-verbal predicates: noun or classifier phrases and
postpositional phrases. Noun or classifier phrases are used for equation (56), proper
inclusion (57), attribution (58), and quantification (59),
56 Yesu u=läpä nin=däne yakap amin.

Jesus that=Cl.stick 1p=Poss before person
Jesus is our first man (our leader?)
57 Pilox=u däki däkä=tu.

tree.sp.=Top wood Cl.thick=one
A 'pilok' is a (type of) tree..
58 Stoli u=sing belakngä hikngä=do. Däpi.

story that=like long real=Neg short
The story is not very long. It's short.
59 Huw=u buläbam=u take=yalä.

stone=Lnk big=Top Cl.big=two
There are two big stones. (lit., The big stones are two.)
Noun phrases headed by modal nouns such as =nage 'purpose' are used for modal
expressions. The modal noun functions as the predicate and takes a non-finite clausal
complement. In (60) däki ha 'fire cook' is the clausal complement of =nage.
60 Däki ha=nage.
fire cook=purpose
It's for the purpose of lighting the fire.
Postpositional phrases are used for possession (61), origin (62), location (63), or
purpose (64). Postpositions may also follow clauses (64).
61 Sadun=u gup=nä kwak=gäne.

axe=Top skin=3.Gen light=Poss
Axes are the white skins'. (lit., Axes belong to the white skins.)
24
62 Yot=da sane nanä?

home=2s.Gen where from
Where is your village? (lit., Your village [is] from where?)
63 Ti–xawix=u täbäk bungew=u u p–aha–kumäng=u u=sing

be–SS.Ipf=Cond rat trap=Lnk that pO–do=1p.Pst=Top that=like
sugum puyä tängä=ne=do.

sweetpotato garden Cl.place=Loc=Neg
Well, (where) the traps that we made, it was not at the sweet potato garden.
64 Sow=u [yagä halut–nim]=de.

soap=Top water wash–1p.Fut=Dat
Soap is for washing (with). (lit., Soap is for us to wash.)
4.2.2 Stative Clauses with Non–Inflecting Existential Verbs
Another type of stative predicate consists of either of the two non-inflecting

existential verbs kayä 'exist' (65) and wenä 'not exist' (66). These are discussed further in
section 6.1.
65 Yagä kayä.
water exist
There is water.
66 Yagä wenä.
Water not.exist
There is no water.
4.2.3 Stative Clauses with Inflecting Verbs
It is possible for the stative predicates described above—those headed by non-
verbal predicates (67) and those headed by existential verbs (68) to function as
complements of verbs like ting 'be', natäp 'feel', and yiwit 'stay'.
When ting 'be' has a suffix indicating some sort of imperfective aspect such as
–ga 'singular dynamic imperfective' ('s.DIpf') (67, 68, 69), –ka 'plural dynamic
imperfective' ('p.DIpf') (70), or –xawik 'same subject imperfective' (SS.Ipf) (71), it is a
stative copular verb.
67 Ti–wän deyä kawut=du take=do. Wäyi ti–ga–k.

be–3s.DS but Cl.part=one good=Neg bad be–s.DIpf–3s.Pr
But some of it (what I said) is not good. It is bad.
68 Ti–wän ya–wä bulä wenä ti–ga–k.

Be–3s.DS say–23p.DS fruit not.exist be–s.DIpf–3s.Pr
They talk and there is no fruit. (There are no results from the discussion).
25
69 Iwat ti–ke ku=nangäsä do=li–ga–k.

sick be–SS.Pf go=deontic Neg=be–s.DIpf–3s.Pr
I am sick, so it is not possible (for me) to go.
70 Bungep=nä ku paha–wän=u take ti–ka–kut.

trap=3.Gen go pO–do–3s.DS=Cond good be–p.DIpf–3s.Pst
When he would go make a trap, it would be good.
71 yämä däkä=ne ku yayi=nage ti–xawix=u "Takeläpä gä=tä

door Cl.thick=Loc go step=purpose be–SS.Ipf=Cond Lord 2s=Abl
gatä–nga–mi–yo," yang ya–ke kop–bum.

help–1sO–give–2s.DImp Comp say–SS.Pf go.up–1s.Pst
… and as I was about to step over the threshold, I said "Lord, help me" and I went inside.
Without a suffix indicating some type of imperfective aspect, ting has the more
dynamic sense of 'become' (72, 73).
72 Apu-xu–wän=ä take u=ne ti–kut.

come-go–3s.DS=after good that=Loc be–3s.Pst
It (water) went out and it (the bump) then got well (became well.)
73 Moyo yiwit–na nax=u wenä ti–wik.

without stay–1p.DS food=Top not.exist be–3s.Fut
If we do nothing, there won't be any food (lit., the food will become nonexistent.)
Other verbs that can function as copular verbs are natäp 'feel' and yiwit 'stay'.
Natäp is used with emotions (74). Yiwit is used with locations (75) and conditions (76).
74 Sip–na ti–wä tokngä hikngä natä–xa–mäng.

hit.3pO–1p.DS cry–23p.DS hot real feel–SIpf–1p.Pr
We hit them and they cry, and we feel very angry.
75 Temä–xa–wa matekngä täpä udan yiwi–kut.

shoot–SIpf–1s.DS small Cl.stick there stay–3s.Pst
I shot it and the little one stayed there.
76 Ti–wän kitokngä hikngä yiwi–kut=de …

be–3s.DS strong real stay–3s.Pst=Dat
Well, because it (the sun) stayed very strong, …
4.3 Independent Clauses
An "independent clause is one that is fully inflected and capable of being

integrated into discourse on its own" (Payne 1997: 306). It is typically the main clause of
the sentence it belongs to, and it does not depend on another verb for the specification of
operators like tense, aspect, and mode.
26
Most independent clauses in Awara are finite clauses, i.e. they have the type of
inflectional morphology indicating subject identity, tense, and mode that occurs on the
end of final verbs. The suffixes that mark these operators are called final-verb suffixes
because the main or independent clause of a sentence is normally the final one. (These
are described in section 7.2.)
Below are some examples illustrating some of the suffixes that occur on final
verbs. The final-verb suffixes that indicate tense are PRESENT (77), PAST (78), and FUTURE
(79).
77 Ina=le tik–ga–läk?
what=Dat cry–s.DIpf–2s.Pr
What are you crying for?
78 A=sing yiwi–kum.
this=like stay–1s.Pst
I stayed like this.
79 Bapu=täne ya–wit.
grampa=Poss say–1s.Fut
I will speak about the ancestors.
The final-verb suffixes indicating imperative mood are the DEFAULT IMPERATIVE
('DImp') (80) and the IMMEDIATE IMPERATIVE MOOD suffixes ('Imm') (81).
80 Takeläpä gä=tä gatä–nga–mi–yo.

Lord 2s=Abl help–1sO–give–2s.DImp
Lord, help me.
81 T–e–wi ku–ka–kut.
sO–leave–2s.DS go–p.DIpf–23p.Imm
Let them go.
The final-verb suffixes that indicate epistemic modality are PROBABILITY (82),
APPREHENSION (83), and HYPOTHETICAL (84).
82 O wäyi ti–wän woksaw=une yi–wänak.

oh bad be–3s.DS workshop=Loc stay–3s.Prob
Oh, it's damaged so it's probably in the workshop.
83 Tik–ga–wa Giyamgisi=xät Giatulu=xät=dä

cry–s.DIpf–1s.DS Giyamgisi=with Giatulu=with=Abl
na–ni–hän.
1sO–tell–3d.Appr
I (might) cry and Giyamgisi and Giatru might rebuke me.
27
84 A–natä–xa–t gämu, a=layi–xä–wa ya–pim.

PFocus=know–SIpf–1s.Pr if PFocus=sing–SIpf–1s.DS write–2s.Hyp
If I knew it, I'd sing it and you would write it.
In addition to clauses containing verbs with the above kinds of suffixes, stative
clauses headed by a non-verbal predicate or by a non-inflecting existential verb may also
function as independent clauses (see 4.2.1). Except for clauses headed by modal nouns,
their modality is understood to be either declarative (85) or interrogative (86).
85 Kuhit=na tokngä.
head=1s.Gen pain
My head hurts.
86 Däki däkä uman=ä ina?

tree Cl.thick name=3.Gen what
What is this tree called? (lit., The tree, its name is what?)
4.4 Dependent Clauses

A dependent clause is one that depends on some other clause for its temporal,
modal, or aspectual interpretation, or for the specification of the identity of a core

argument. Awara has two kinds of dependent clauses: subordinate-dependent clauses and
cosubordinate-dependent clauses. These are described below. Different types of
subordinate-dependent clauses and cosubordinate-dependent clauses are also shown in
chapters 8 and 9.
4.4.1 Subordinate–Dependent Clauses
Awara has two kinds of subordinate-dependent clauses: 1) clauses that are

subordinated by a postposition or the quotative complementizer yang18, and 2) non-finite
clauses which function as the complement of modal nouns.
Clauses with final-verb subject-indexing suffixes indicating tense can be
subordinated by postpositions such as =de 'dative' (87), =une 'locative' (88), and =yä
18
The complementizer yang 'Comp' is used following quotes and is derived from the verb yang 'say'. It is
also used following lists. This word could be analyzed as a postposition, but unlike postpositions it is
optional when it marks the complement of certain quotative verbs. Another analysis is that it is a pro-form
used as an appositive phrase following lists and quotes. Because of its use following quotes, it is presented
here as a complementizer.
28
'after' (89). Though these clauses are inflected for tense, their tense is relative to that of
the final or main clause.
87 U=sing [tebanä ako–pit]=de ya–kum deyä …

that=like morning come.up–1s.Fut=Dat say–1s.Pst but
I said I would come up in the morning, but …
88 Tupä [nä wawakdäkä yiwi–kum]=une nä=tä u=sing t–aha–kum.

before 1s child stay–1s.Pst=Loc 1s=Abl that=like sO–do–1s.Pst
Before, when I was a boy, I did this.
89 Ko ko–ke=ngu [a=w–äk–epu yiwi–kut]=nä

go.up go.up–SS.Pf=Cond PFocus=pO–take-come.down stay-3s.Pst=after
ka–kut yämä=nä=ne.
see.3sO–3s.Pst door=3.Gen=Loc
He (Matai) went up, and saw that it had come down and stayed at its door.
Any kind of clause can be subordinated by the quotative complementizer yang. In

(90) the subordinated clause is headed by a non-inflecting verb.
90 "Kupän=u wenä" yang i–ni–kum.

tobacco=Top not.exist Comp 3sO–tell–1s.Pst
I told him "I don't have any tobacco." (lit., There is no tobacco.)
The second type of subordinate-dependent clause is the non-finite clauses which

function as the complement to modal nouns such as =nage 'purpose' (91) and =nangän
'deontic' (92). These non-finite clauses lack subject agreement suffixes. Modal nouns are
discussed further in chapter 5.
91 Däki ha=nage.
fire cook=purpose
It's for lighting the fire.
92 Ma=i–ni=nangan.
Prohib=3sO–tell=Deontic.
You shouldn't tell him. (lit., It is obligatory not to tell him.)
4.4.2 Cosubordinate-Dependent Clauses
Van Valin and LaPolla (1997:453ff) use the term "cosubordinate" to describe
clauses that, like coordinate clauses, are neither modifiers nor arguments of the clause,
but are 'added together in sequence'. However, like subordinate clauses, they exhibit
operator dependence—that is, they depend on another clause for tense and illocutionary
force.
29
Awara has such clauses and uses them in clause chains to describe multiple events
in a sentence. The initial clauses in the chain have medial-verb subject-indexing suffixes,
while the final clause in the chain has a final-verb subject-indexing suffix. These medial-
verb suffixes indicate whether the subject of the current clause is the same as or different
from the subject of the following clause in the chain. Haiman and Munro (1983) call this
other clause the 'reference clause'.19 Medial-verb suffixes do not indicate tense or
modality, so clauses with these suffixes depend on the main clause for their temporal and
modal specification.
SAME SUBJECT (SS) suffixes indicate that the subject of the current clause is the
same as that of the reference clause. In (93) the suffix –ke 'SS perfective' on eng 'leave'
indicates that its subject is the same as that of ap 'come', which is first person singular.
The medial clause containing –ke is dependent on the main clause which contains –kum
'1s past'.
93 Ti–wän=ä t–e–ke hipdu yol=une ap–bum.

be–3s.DS=after sO–leave–SS.Pf again village=Loc come–1s.Pst
So I left and came home again.
DIFFERENT SUBJECT (DS) suffixes indicate the identity of the subject of the
current clause directly, as well as signaling that the subject of the reference clause is
different. In (94) the verb yang 'say' has the third singular DIFFERENT SUBJECT suffix, and
the subject of its reference clause, ning 'tell', is first singular.
94 T–ä–ko "Uman=da imin?" ya–wän, "Uman=a

sO–take–go.up name=2s.Gen who say–3s.DS name=1s.Gen
Ngawingom," yang i–ni–kum.

Ngawingom Comp 3sO–tell–1s.Pst
Going inside he said "What's your name?", and I told him "My name is Ngawingom."
Though the medial clause is operator dependent on the main clause for its
temporal and modal specification, its reference clause is not necessarily the main clause.
In (95) below, the first verb yänike 'tell' is marked same-subject, but it does not have the
19
"Following Munro 1980a, we identify the clause in which switch-reference is marked as the marking
clause, and the clause with reference to which it is marked as the reference clause" (Munro 1983:xii).
30
same subject as päkaying 'take', the final verb in the main clause. Rather yänike is
marked in reference to following medial verb, pena 'leave'.
95 "…" yang yä–ni–ke u=sing p–e–na yiwi–ke

Comp 3pO–tell–SS.Pf that=like pO–leave–1p.DS stay–SS.Pf
natädetdel=u u=ne p–ä–ka–ying.

knowledge=Top that=Loc pO–take–p.DIpf–23p.Pr
We tell them " … " and leave them like that and they stay and get knowledge there (they
learn their lesson from that).
The reference clause is normally the following clause in the clause chain. This
does not mean that it is the immediately following clause. This is because clauses which
are subordinated to the following clause in the chain may intervene. In (96), kuke is
marked for same-subject. Its reference verb is not the immediately following one
yiwikumängune, but apbut. The following clause amindä yiwikumängune 'where we
people were' is an adverbial clause, subordinated to apbut, and is therefore ignored by
the switch-reference system, which only monitors clauses in the chain.
96 Epu–xu–ke amin=dä yiwi–kumäng=une ap–but.

come.down–go–SS.Pf person=Abl stay–1p.Pst=Loc come–3s.Pst
It came out and came to where we people were..
Another reason that the reference clause may be something other than the
following clause is that a medial clause can be dislocated to the right of its reference
clause. In (97), the clause bikhet däkngawä is followed by the clitic =n 'dislocation' and
is marked different-subject in reference to the clause preceding it, tokngä hikngä
natake. Throughout the rest of the sentence, switch-reference marking conforms to the
pattern described above, with the immediately following clause in the chain serving as
the reference clauses.
97 Tokngä hikngä natä–ke, [bikhet däknga–wä=n],

angry real feel–SS.Pf brat become–23p.DS=Dis
sipma–ke=ngä apme=yä ya–na bita–ka–ying.

hit.3pO–SS.Pf=after later=after say–1p.DS dislike–p.DIpf–23p.Pr
We feel very angry, when they misbehave, and we hit them and later we talk to them and
they stop crying.
The following sentence does not fit the pattern described above. The subject of
the first verb wamäkengä is the son. The subject of the following verb, iniwän (ignoring
31
the quoted material), is the father. Wamäkengä is marked for same-subject, even though
it does not have the same subject as iniwän. This indicates that iniwän is not its reference
verb. Instead, both wamäkengä and iniwän are marked in reference to the final verb
pexakut.
98 Wamä–ke=ngä "Hii kwätahik=äyä p–e–yo," yang

tie–SS.Pf=after yes trap.base=also pO–leave–2s.DImp Comp
i–ni–wän kwätahik=äyä p–e–xa–kut.

3sO–tell–3s.DS trap.base=also pO–leave–SIpf–3s.Pst
After he (the son) would tie it, he (the father) would tell him, "Yes, also put the base of
the trap" and he (the son) would put it.
What the syntactic relationships of Awara medial clauses are to their reference
clause and to the final clause is an outstanding issue.

Van Valin and LaPolla (1997:450–453) use the term cosubordinate for medial
clauses in Amele and other Papuan languages, because neither the terms coordinate nor
subordinate apply. In Amele, medial clauses are not coordinate because "unlike
coordinate constructions, tense, mood (illocutionary force) and negation can be shared
across conjuncts in the switch-reference constructions" (p. 450). They are not subordinate
because syntactic tests, such as ability to be postposed and the possibility of a pronoun
being co-referential with a full NP in the superordinate clause, show them to be more like
coordinate rather than subordinate clauses.
Strong evidence for treating Awara medial clauses as cosubordinate rather than as
subordinate has not been found. However, because the forms and functions of the medial
clauses and the subordinate-dependent clauses in Awara are similar to those described by
Van Valin and LaPolla for other Papuan languages, I have used their term cosubordinate
for the medial clauses.
5 MODAL NOUNS
Awara has three modal nouns: =nangäsä 'deontic' and =nangän 'deontic', both of
which express concepts related to possibility and obligation, and =nage 'purpose'. These
nouns may function as arguments of the clause, as predicates, and as adverbial modifiers.
In (99) the noun phrase headed by =nangäsä functions as the subject of wenä 'not exist'.
In (100) the noun phrase headed by =nage functions as the complement of natäp 'want'.
In (101) the noun phrase headed by =nangäsä functions as the predicate. And in (102)
the noun phrase headed by =nage functions as an adverbial modifier. (In the examples
below the noun phrase is in brackets, and the modal noun is underlined.)
99 Dasing=ga t–aha–nim täknga, [Anätu=le kayi=ne ko

how=Indef sO–do–1p.Fut Cl.rope God=Dat eye=Loc go.up
hopi=nangäsä] wenä.
hide=Deontic not.exist
Whatever we do, there is no possibility of hiding it from God's eyes. (lit., the possibility of
hiding it from God's eyes does not exist.)
100 [Akop=nage] natä–ke=ngä ako–pit.

come.up=purpose want–SS.Pf=after come.up–1s.Fut
When I want to come up, I will.
101 [Do=w–aha=nangäsä].
Neg=pO–do=Deontic
You don't have to do it. (lit., It is permissible not to do it.)
102 Ge [skul=de Kwadam kop=nage] ta–wäm–ba mali–wän …

so school=Dat Kwadam go.up=purpose 3sO–follow–1s.DS fail–3s.DS
So for the purpose of going up to Kwandam for school, I looked for it (my bag) but failed
to find it …
Modal nouns take non-finite clauses as their complements. They never occur
without a non-finite clausal complement.20 The nouns are clitics, phonologically bound to
20
An alternative analysis is that the clause preceding the modal is a relative clause. However, modals
would be the only nouns to require relative clauses. In addition, relative clauses with other nouns require
final-verb subject-indexing. Relative clauses with modals would be different in that they cannot have
subject-indexing suffixes.
32
33
the non-finite verb in the complement. The non-finite verb is simply the verb stem (103)
with its object prefixes (104), or the verb stem followed by the aspect suffix –ka 'plural
dynamic imperfective' (105). The suffix –ka is the only one found on a non-finite verb
preceding a modal noun.
103 Ep=nangäsä do=li–kut.

come.down=Deontic Neg=be–3s.Pst
He/I/We couldn't come down (lit., It was not possible to come down).
104 A=yä–mi=nangäsä.
PFocus=3pO–give=Deontic
You should have given it to them (lit., It was obligatory to give it to them).
105 Pet=sä pe–ka=nangäsä.

sleep=2p.Gen sleep–p.DIpf=Deontic
You should sleep (lit., It is obligatory to sleep your sleep).
The complement is not necessarily just one clause. It may also be a clause chain
ending in a non-finite verb.
106 [A=ha–ke yä–mi]=nangäsä ti–kuläk.

PFocus=cook–SS.Pf 3pO–give=Deontic be–2s.Pst
You should have cooked and given them (lit., It was obligatory to cook and give it to
them).
Like other non-verbal predicates, modal nouns can be followed by =do 'negative'.
107 Apman=u wawakdäkä=tä miti kaluk täknga–läknga p–äk–apu

now=Top child=Abl gospel new Cl.rope–Cl.rope pO–take–come
yä–nidamut=nangäsä=do.
3pO–teach=Deontic=Neg
Now the young people may not bring new denominations and teach them. (lit., Now it is
not permissible for the young people to bring new denominations and teach them).
108 A=w–aha=nage=do.
PFocus=pO–do=Purpose=Neg
It is not to be planted (lit., It is not for the purpose of planting).
Like other noun phrases, modal noun phrases can be the complement of ting 'be'
(109, 110, 111).
109 …[wep=nangäsä] ti–ga–k.

fly=Deontic be–s.DIpf–3s.Pr
(My body feels so light today), I could fly (lit., it is possible to fly).
110 [Do=lang-ut=nangän] ti–läk.

Neg=3sO-hit=Deontic be–2s.Pr
You shouldn't have hit him (lit., You were obligated not to hit him).
34
111 … [yämä däkä=ne ku yayi=nage] ti–xawix=u …

door Cl.thick=Loc go step=purpose be–SS.Ipf=Cond
… and being about to step over the threshold, …
There are at least two other possible analyses of these modals. One is that these
modals are complementizers that are used with non-finite clauses. Non-finite clauses with
these complementizers would be able to function as independent clauses as in (105) and
(108) above.
There are two arguments against this. One is that the modals function differently
than the complementizer yang. The complementizer follows fully inflected clauses while
modals follow non-finite clauses. Yang is never negated by =do while modals can be.
And clauses with yang do not function as the complement of ting 'be' while modals can.
The other argument is that it would be typologically strange for non-finite clauses
to function as independent clauses, whereas if a modal is a noun or a non-inflecting verb,
then it is the head of the independent clause and the nonfinite clause is subordinate to it.
The other possible analysis is that that these modals are not nouns, but non-
inflecting auxiliary verbs that take non-finite clausal complements. Both nouns and non-
inflecting verbs can function as the predicate or as the complement of ting 'be'. And both
nouns and non-inflecting verbs, unlike inflecting verbs, are never negated by do=
'negative' or ma= 'prohibitive' or preceded by a= 'predicate focus'. 21 However, modals
with their complements, like noun phrases, can function as arguments of the clause,
whereas the non-inflecting verbs, kayä 'exist' and wenä 'not exist', cannot (see 6.1). In
this way modals are more like nouns than non-inflecting verbs.
5.1 =nangäsä 'deontic'

=Nangäsä has several senses involving possibility: potential situation (112),
ability (113), or permission (114). (In the examples below the modal noun is underlined
and its clausal complement is in brackets.)
21
The clausal complement of a modal can be preceded by do= 'negative', ma= 'prohibitive' or a='predicate
focus', but these clitics never immediately precede the modal. Rather the modal, like nouns, can be negated
by =do following it.
35
112 … [amuha dämä=xätan t–ä–pu n–ut]=nangäsä gwalang …

below Cl.cliff at sO–take–go.down 1sO–hit=Deontic ???
… and I could have fallen down the cliff (lit., there was the potential of falling down the
cliff) …
113 Take. [A=xu]=nangäsä.

good PFocus=go=Deontic
(The road) is good. You can go (lit., It is possible to go)
114 [Apman=u wawakdäkä=tä miti kaluk täknga–läknga p–äk–apu

now=Top child=Abl gospel new Cl.rope–Cl.rope pO–take–come
yä–nidämut]=nangäsä=do.
3pO–teach=Deontic=Neg
Now the young people may not bring new denominations and teach them (the people)
(lit., Now it is not permissible for the young people to bring … )
Expectations or obligations can be pragmatically implied by uttering the statement

that something is possible (115).
115 [Asä apu–ka]=nangäsä. Ti–wän puku–ka=nangäsä.

like.this come–p.DIpf=Deontic. be–3s.DS go.down–p.DIpf=Deontic
They could have come now. Then we could be going down. (lit., It is possible to come like
this. Then it would be possible to go down.)
A noun phrase headed by =nangäsä can function as the desiderative complement

of the verb natäp 'want'.
116 [Käham nä]=nangäsä natä–xa–t.

ginger eat=Deontic want–SIpf–1s.Pr
I want to eat ginger (lit., I feel the possibility of eating ginger).
117 Kwätä=na tulukngä ti–wä [pe–kä]=nangäsä=kän

bone=1s.Gen tired be–23p.DS sleep–p.DIpf=Deontic=only
natä–xa–t.
want–SIpf–1s.Pr
My body is tired and I just want to sleep (lit., I feel the possibility of sleeping).
When =nangäsä is used with ting 'be', the subject marking on ting indicates
whether =nangäsä has an obligative or abilitative sense. When the subject suffix on ting
indicates what would normally be expected given the subject, =nangäsä has the sense of
obligation (118). However, sometimes the subject suffix on ting is third person singular
regardless of the person of the actor in the subordinate clause (the complement of
=nangäsä), and in that case =nangäsä has the sense of ability (119).
36
118 [A=yä–mi]=nangäsä ti–läk.

PFocus=3pO–give=Deontic be–2s.Pr
You should have given it to them. (You were obligated to give it to them.)
119 [Ep]=nangäsä do=li–ga–k. Mepdayi.

come.down=Deontic Neg=be–s.DIpf–3s.Pr nervous
I cannot come down (lit., It is not possible to come down). I am nervous (about falling).
=Nangäsä is also used in a construction involving ting 'be' with a third person
plural ('23p') subject suffix to indicate physical need (120) or urge (121).
120 Gup=na täpä tulukngä ti–wä

skin=1s.Gen Cl.stick soft be–23p.DS
[pe–kä]=nangäsä=kän ti–ka–ying
sleep–p.DIpf=Deontic=only be–p.DIpf–23p.Pr
My body is tired and I just want to sleep (lit., it is just necessary to sleep.)
121 [watut]=nangäsä u=ne ti–xa–wä dadabu=na u=ne

vomit=Deontic that=Loc be–SIpf–23p.DS strength=1s.Gen that=Loc
ku–kin.
go–23p.Pst
and I could have vomited there (lit., it was possible to vomit), and I felt faint. (lit., and
my strength went there).
5.2 =nangän 'deontic'

=Nangän is largely synonymous with =nangäsä, expressing concepts related to
possibility and obligation. It is used primarily in prohibitions, with the non-finite verb in
the complement preceded by the clitic ma= 'prohibitive' (122). The examples from texts
all involve scolding someone for doing something he should not have done.
122 [U=sing ma=l–aha]=nangän.

that=like Prohib=sO–do=Deontic
You should not do that. (lit., It was obligatory not to do that.)
Only a few examples have been observed of =nangän being used without ma=
'prohibitive'. These express ability (123), censure (124), or unmet expectations (125).
Attempts to elicit other examples have not been successful.
123 [A=w–aha]=nangän gämu a=w–aha–wam.

PFocus=pO–do=Deontic if PFocus=pO–do–1s.Hyp
If I could do it I would (lit., If it were possible to do … )
124 [Do=lang–ut]=nangän ti–läk.

Neg=3sO–hit=Deontic be–2s.Pr
You shouldn't have hit him (lit., You were obligated not to hit him.)
37
125 [Take hikngä towik]=nangän, wäyi täpä towi–ka–mäk

good real care=Deontic bad Cl.stick care–p.DIpf–1d.Pr
We should take care of a good one (a healthy child), but we are taking care of a bad
(unhealthy) one (lit., It is possible to care for a good one … )
Though speakers from Tawaya occasionally use =nangän, when asked about it,
they often attribute it to other varieties of Awara or to the Wantoat language, saying that
they normally use the imperative mood suffixes (7.2.4) or =nangäsä instead.
5.3 =nage 'purpose'

=Nage occurs in several constructions expressing purpose or intent. When it is the
head of the main clause, it indicates what the purpose of something is. (It is glossed
simply with 'to' or 'for' in the free translation.)
126 [Däki ha]=nage.

fire cook=purpose
It is for lighting the fire.
127 Gita [a=sipmä–de–ke lotu kä]=nage awä

guitar PFocus=hit.pO–loosen–SS.Pf worship see.3sO=purpose and
[pati gwen=du t–äha–wä t–ä–ku u=ne

party Cl.lump=one so–do–23p.DS sO–take–go that=Loc
sipmä–de–ke tayi]=nage.
hit.pO–loosen–SS.Pf sing=purpose
Guitars are [for strumming and worshiping (lit., seeing worship)], and [for when they do
a party, going and strumming and singing there].
=Nage can also indicate that something ought to be done (128) or that one intends
to do something (129).
128 [A=xu]=nage.
PFocus=go=purpose
They ought to go (to the meeting) (lit., They are to go).
129 [Apme i–ni]=nage.

later 3sO–tell=purpose
Later I will tell her (lit., I am to tell her.)
A noun phrase headed by =nage may also function as an adverbial modifier that
indicates the purpose for the action asserted in the clause. The subject of the non-finite
complement of =nage may be the same as that in the main clause or different. In (130)
38
the subject of both clauses is first person plural. In (131) the subject of the main clause is
the groom, and the subject of the non-finite clause is his in-laws.
130 Ge kwep=dä=tä=yä hipdu sip t–ä–ke ku–kumäng,

so ±1 day=Abl=Abl=after again ship sO–take–SS.Pf go–1p.Pst
[Mädeng ku]=nage.
Madang go=purpose
So the next day we took a ship and went, to go to Madang.
131 Ti–wän=ä [moning p–ä]=nage yang–yä–wäm–bän …

be–3s.DS=after money pO–take=purpose say–3pO–chase–3s.DS
After doing that, he calls them to get the money and …
The modal noun phrase functioning as an adverbial modifier may be postposed to

the right of the clause (132).
132 Däki däkä ku mata–wa ep–ning, [katak kayämut

wood Cl.thick go cut–1s.DS come.down–23p.Fut branch cucumber
tälang p–aha]=nage.
pole pO–do=purpose
I'll go cut down trees, to make poles for the cucumber vines.
Noun phrases headed by =nage may function as the complement of a verb such as
ahang 'do' (133), yang 'say' (134), or natäp 'want' (135).
133 [Yakap=de mängälä täpä a=xu]=nage t–aha–wän=u

before=Dat female Cl.stick PFocus=go=purpose sO–do–3s.DS=Cond
When the woman prepares to go for the first time (lit., When the woman does to go for the
first time … )
134 [Sade P&C miting=ge kop]=nage ya–kin.

Sunday P&C meeting=Dat go.up=purpose say–23p.Pst
They said to go up for the P&C meeting on Sunday.
135 [a=lang–ut]=nage natä–ke teyä t–e–t.

PFocus=3sO–hit=purpose want–SS.Pf but sO–leave–1s.Pr
I wanted to hit him, but I left (hitting) him.
When =nage is used to indicate purpose or intent, it is almost never followed by

ting 'be'. However, in the next example, it is followed by ting, and though the topic is
first person, the subject-indexing on ting is third singular. It appears that ting serves here
only as a bearer of tense marking in the main clause.
39
136 … hipdu nä natdetdet=na t–e–wa [atu giyamsao

again 1s knowledge=1s.Gen sO–leave–1s.DS level.far deaconess
skul t–aha–ka–ying=kätan ku]=nage udan ti–kut.

school sO–do–p.DIpf–23p.Pr=at go=purpose there be–3s.Pst
… and again I set my mind to going to where they do the deaconess school. (lit., I put
my thought and it was to go to where they do the deaconess school.)
A noun phrase headed by =nage may be followed by ting 'be' to indicate

imminence or the state of being about to do something. The subject marking on ting
indicates the one who is about to do something. In (137) the subject marking on ting is
first person singular.
137 [Wam ya]=nage ti–ga–l=u …

word say=purpose be–s.DIpf–1s.Pr=Top
The words I am about to say …
=Nage differs from =nangän and =nangäsä in that it can be followed by the
postpositional clitic =ngu 'conditional' (138). In this respect =nage also differs from other
nouns. The conditional clitic =ngu only follows =nage and verbs that can be inflected.
138 Ku ku p–ä–ku [Matak pet–nage]=ngu u=sing u=ne

go go pO–take–go Matak sleep=purpose=Cond that=like that=Loc
pe–wiläk.
sleep–2s.Fut
You will go and go, and if (you want) to sleep at Matak, you will sleep there.
5.4 Types of Meaning in Modal Nouns
In some languages, like English, the same modals are used for both epistemic and
deontic, or root, modality. Coates (1995:55) gives the following explanation of these two
kinds of modalities. "Epistemic modality is concerned with the speaker's assumptions or
assessment of possibilities, and in most cases it indicates the speaker's confidence or lack
of confidence in the truth of the proposition expressed. Root modality encompasses
meanings such as permission and obligation, and also possibility and necessity."
The modal nouns =nangän 'deontic', =nangäsä 'deontic', and =nage 'purpose'
appear to be used exclusively for deontic modality expressing concepts such as
obligation, possibility, permission, need, and desire. Epistemic modality, on the other
hand, is expressed with adverbs such as =bä 'maybe' and hikngä 'real' following the
40
clitics a= 'predicate focus' and do= 'negative', and with the following subject-indexing
suffixes: APPREHENSION, PROBABILITY, and HYPOTHETICAL (described in 7.2.4).
6 VERB SUBCATEGORIES
Awara verbs can be classified according to several criteria: their morphological
pattern (inflecting vs. non-inflecting), their valence (intransitive, transitive, etc.), and
their intrinsic aspect (stative vs. dynamic).
6.1 Morphological Pattern
There are two verb subcategories based on morphological patterns: those that take
inflectional affixes and those that do not. Most verbs take inflectional affixes. These are
described in chapter 7. Existential verbs do not take inflections. These are described
below.
There are two existential verbs: kayä 'exist' and wenä 'not exist'.
139 Wa Sade miting=u kayä.

this Sunday meeting=Top exist
This Sunday there is a meeting.
140 Kupän=u wenä.

smoke=Top not.exist.
I don't have a cigarette. (lit., Tobacco does not exist.)
Normally existential verbs stand alone as the predicate, but ting 'be' can be used
with them to support tense or switch-reference.
141 Moyo yiwit–na nax=u wenä ti–wik.

without stay–1p.DS food=Top not.exist be–3s.Fut
If we do nothing, there will not be food.
142 Ti–ke wäwi täpä yot=nä kayä ti–wän=u …

be–SS.Pf male Cl.stick home=3.Gen exist be–3s.DS=Cond
But if the man has a house, … (lit., But if the man, his house exists …)
I classify existentials as verbs rather than as nouns because they function only as
predicates, never as arguments or as modifiers in the noun phrase.
41
42
6.2 Valence
Awara verbs can be sub-divided according to their valence into the following
categories: 1) intransitive, 2) transitive, 3) semitransitive, 4) ditransitive, and 5)
benefactive. Intransitive verbs subcategorize for one core argument, the subject.
Transitive verbs subcategorize for one argument in addition to the subject. Semitransitive
verbs have both transitive and intransitive subcategorization frames. Ditransitive verbs
subcategorize for two arguments in addition to the subject. Finally benefactive verbs are
formed by compounding with ming 'give' and require an argument with the benefactive
role in addition to the arguments subcategorized for by the first verb root.
The subject is indexed on the verb by a subject suffix. The other core arguments
of most verbs are not indexed on the verb. However, there are thirteen Awara verbs that
require an object-indexing prefix. In addition, benefactive verbs require an object prefix
immediately preceding ming 'give'.
In Awara, referents of core arguments need not be represented by an overt noun
phrase or prepositional phrase when they are given, specific, and definite. Instead, they
may be elided. For example, in the following sentence, neither the subject nor the object
referents of ut 'hit' is represented by a phrasal argument. However, both are indexed on
the verb, and the context indicates that the object of ut is the rat referred to earlier in the
text.
143 "Ku a=lang–u–sim" ya–ke ku–kumäk.

go PFocus=3sO–hit–1d.Fut say–SS.Pf go–1d.Pst
We said, "We'll go kill it," and we went.
It is not only referents that are indexed on the verb that may be elided. Example
(144) shows that yang 'say' has a transitive frame, which subcategorizes for an object.
Example (145) comes from the same text, and the context indicates that, even though
there is no overt phrasal object, and the object is not indexed on the verb, this use of yang
is also transitive, meaning, not that the women won't speak, but that that they won't say
their husbands' name.
43
144 Ay=ä=le uman=u do=ya–ka–ying=gäne

husband–3.Gen=Dat name=Top Neg=say–p.DIpf–23p.Pr=Poss
ya–nage–ga–t.
say–soon–s.DIpf–1s.Pr
I am about to speak about (why) they don't say their husband's name.
145 Ti–ke tokngä do=natä–ke=ngu do=ya–ka–ying.

be–SS.Pf angry Neg=feel–SS.Pf=Cond Neg=say–p.DIpf–23p.Pr
But if they don't feel angry, they don't say it (their husbands' name).
In the following sections I describe each of the subcategories and give examples.
6.2.1 Intransitive Verbs
Intransitive verbs subcategorize for only one argument, which is indexed on the
verb by a subject-indexing suffix. The referent of this argument is optionally encoded as
a noun phrase or classifier phrase. For example, in (146) it is encoded as a classifier
phrase and in (147-149 below) there is no overt phrasal subject.
146 … amin=u u=läpä u=ne kum–but.

person=Top that=Cl.stick that=Loc die–3s.Pst
… and the man died there.
Because intransitive verbs subcategorize for only this argument, they co-occur
with neither an object noun phrase nor an object-indexing prefix. Examples of
intransitive verbs are kungwäng 'die' (146), enat 'rise' (147), kung 'go' (147), mit 'laugh'
(148), and tit 'cry' (149).
147 U–ne=tä ena–ke ku–kumäk.

that=Loc=Abl rise–SS.Pf go–1d.Pst
From there we got up and went.
148 Ya–wa duksäng hikngä mi–kumäk.

say–1s.ds strong real laugh–1d.Pst
I said this and we laughed a lot.
149 mängät=nä=le natänatä ti–ke kwänäm=pät ti–kut.22

wife=3.Gen=Dat worried be–SS.Pf tear=with cry–3s.Pst
and he was worried about his wife and cried with tears.
22
The verbs ting 'be' and tit 'cry' are distinct as evidenced by their forms with the singular dynamic
imperfective suffix -ga: tigak versus tikgak.
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6.2.2 Transitive Verbs
Transitive verbs in Awara subcategorize for one argument in addition to the

subject. The referent of this argument is optionally encoded as a noun phrase or classifier
phrase. Some of these verbs require an object-indexing prefix, while others do not.
Awara has two sets of object-indexing prefixes. One set only indicates the number
of the object, but the other indicates both the person and the number of the object. Their
forms are shown in Tables (12) and (13) in section 7.2.1.
So far seven verb roots have been identified that take object prefixes
distinguishing only singular versus plural object. These are äng 'take', ahang 'do', ämap
'fling', ayamusit 'shake', ämum 'lay', emäng 'shoot/write', and eng 'leave'. For example,
eng 'leave' requires a prefix indicating whether the object is singular (150) or plural
(151). In (150) the phrasal object is underlined, but in (151) there is no overt phrasal
object. Instead, the referent of the object prefix in (151) is understood from the context to
be children who misbehave.
150 T–ä–ko yagä u=dupi=him=u t–e–ke

sO–take–go.up water that=Cl.finger=Dim=Top sO–leave–SS.Pf
You'll go up and leave that river and
151 "…" yang yä–ni–ke u=sing p–e–na yiwi–ke

Comp 3pO–tell–SS.Pf that=like pO–leave–1p.DS stay–SS.Pf
natädetdel=u u=ne p–ä–ka–ying.

knowledge=Top that=Loc pO–take–p.DIpf–23p.Pr
We tell them "…" and we leave them alone and there they learn (lit., and they get
knowledge there).
Thirteen verbs have been observed so far that take object prefixes indicating both
person and number. These include apmit 'pass', ming 'give', ning 'tell', nidamut 'teach',
nidata 'thank', nimik 'laugh at', pmam 'leave', täni 'slice', and wäm 'follow'. What
distinguishes these verbs from others that do not have prefixes indicating the person and
number of the object is that most of them require an animate object. For example, the
verb ming 'give' requires an animate object with the role of recipient, and ning 'tell'
requires an animate object with the role of addressee.
45
152 Ti–wän pas=u a=l–emä–ke ni–mi–kin.

be–3s.DS letter=Top PFocus=sO–write–SS.Pf 1pO–give–23p.Pst
So they wrote and gave us a letter.
153 "Nin=u do=dayip–bumäng" yang na–ni–kin.

1p=Top Neg=see.3pO–1p.Pst Comp 1sO–tell–23p.Pst
They told me "We did not see them."
An interesting restriction on the object prefix is that it cannot normally be co-

referential with the subject (154, 155).23 Instead, in a situation when one might expect co-
reference between the agent and patient, the clause contains a reflexive pronoun and the
verb has third person object-indexing. In (156, 157), though the subject is first person, the
object-indexing prefix is third person, and the first person reflexive pronoun is used.24
154 *A=na–du–xa–t.
PFocus=1sO–see–SIpf–1s.Pr
I see me.
155 *A=n–uk–ga–t.
PFocus=1sO–hit–s.DIpf–1s.Pr
I hit me.
156 Nina a=xa–xa–t.

1s.Refl PFocus=see.3sO–SIpf–1s.Pr
I see it (a reflection in the mirror which is of myself).
157 Nina tang–uk–ga–t.

1s.Refl 3sO–hit–s.DIpf–1s.Pr
I myself am hitting it (part of my own body).
The remaining transitive verbs do not exhibit object-indexing morphology.

Examples of such verbs are wamäng 'tie' and uput 'break'. Sentences (158) and (159)
show them with overt phrasal objects.
158 Wäpu=nä wamä–ka–kin.

belt=3.Gen tie–p.DIpf–23p.Pst
They used to tie their belts.
23
The exception is the semitransitive verb hang 'cook', which has an intransitive frame for which the
subject-indexing and object-indexing both refer to the patient (see 6.2.3).
24
The difference in person of the reflexive pronoun and the object-indexing prefix in (156) and (157) seems
to indicate that the reflexive pronoun does not function as the object. The reflexive pronouns have several
functions including reflexive, contrastive emphasis, and separateness. When they are used reflexively the
co-reference is between the subject and an oblique argument, such as a dative or the possessor of the object.
Because of this, it is unclear from the examples what relation the pronoun has to the verb.
46
159 Masis=u gwen=alä upu–läk.

lighter=Lnk Cl.lump=two break–2s.Pr
You broke two lighters.
Since contextually given referents are typically elided in connected discourse, it is

common for these transitive verbs to occur without an overt phrasal object. In
conjunction with the lack of object-indexing morphology, this means that there is no
formal indication whatsoever of the presence of the object. This does not, however, mean
that in such instances these verbs should be treated as intransitive. If native-speakers are
asked who or what is being affected in such examples, they are able to identify a specific
referent. So the referent is present, albeit not overtly.

In (160) below, for example, wamäng 'tie' occurs in the quote without an overt
phrasal object, but in the clause preceding the quote wamäng has the overt object
takwäp 'banana'. Thus in the quote, wamäng also has an understood pronominal object
which refers to the bananas.
160 Wäwi=le mehe=ne yiwi–ke ku–ke=ngä, takwäp=bä

male=Dat behind=Loc stay–SS.Pf go–SS.Pf=after banana=Dub
wam=nage=ngu, "Gwäx=u a=sing ma–ke wam–so," yang

tie=purpose=Cond fork=Top this=like shoot–SS.Pf tie–2s.DImp Comp
yä=nidämu–ka–kin.
3pO–teach–p.DIpf–23p.Pst
They would stay behind the men and go, if they wanted to tie bananas, they would teach
them "Shoot a forked stick like this (into the ground to climb up it) and tie them."
Similarly in (161), uput 'break' does not have an overt phrasal object, but the
context indicated that the speaker was referring to a certain kind of nut, not just to food in
general.
161 Edä wäha=ne p–e–na däki=tä yä–ha–ke koxohäk

up rack=Loc pO–leave–1p.DS fire=Abl 3pO–burn–SS.Pf dried
ti–wä=yä upu–ke na–ka–mäng.

be–23p.DS=after break–SS.Pf eat–p.DIpf–1p.Pr
We put them (the nuts) up on the smoking rack, and after they dry by the fire and become
dry, we break them and eat them.
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6.2.3 Semitransitive Verbs
Semitransitive verbs are verbs that have at least two subcategorization frames: a
transitive one and an intransitive one. For some verbs, the subject of both frames has the
semantic role of agent or actor. For example, nang 'eat' has a transitive frame with an
agent subject and a patient object (162), and an intransitive frame with an agent subject
and no object (163).
Transitive Intransitive
[NPAgent NP Patient __ ] [NPAgent __ ]
Figure 3 Subcategorization Frames for Agent–oriented Semitransitive Verbs
162 O gä a=bita–ga–läk=ge kälaw=u

oh 2s PFocus=dislike–s.DIfp–2s.Pr=Dat animal=Top
do=hikngä–na–piläk.
Neg=really–eat–2s.Fut
Oh, because you didn't want (to go hunting) you truly will not eat meat.
163 Pasäng hikngä do=na–ga–x=unin.

well real Neg=eat–s.DIpf–3s.Pr=Indiv
He doesn't eat well (much).
These semitransitive verbs are to be distinguished from the transitive verbs

discussed in 6.2.2, which also sometimes occur without an overt object. Intransitive
instances of semitransitive verbs lack an object. Transitive verbs and transitive instances
of semitransitive verbs may lack an overt object when the object is contextually given.
The difference is that a native-speaker would not be able to identify a specific referent for
the object of an intransitive instance of a semitransitive verb.
Thus, objects are omitted for two very different pragmatic reasons: 1) high
contextual givenness/activation, and 2) the identity of the referent is not considered
important or relevant by the speaker. Clauses with objects falling into the first class are
here analyzed as transitive, whereas those falling into the second class are analyzed as
intransitive.
Awara also has semitransitive cognate object verbs. These verbs can occur in
transitive clauses with an object whose meaning is very similar to that of the verb itself.
For example, 'say words' (164), 'eat food' (164), 'sleep sleep' (165), and 'sing a song'.
48
164 Wam=bä ya–wäyak bä nak=bä na–päyak.

word=Dub say–3p.Prob or food=Dub eat–3p.Prob
Maybe they are talking (lit., saying words) or maybe they are eating food.
165 Kwew=u pet=nin=u hauspasendiä=ne pe–kumäng.

±1day=Top sleep=1p.Gen=Top guest.house=Loc sleep–1s.Pst
Yesterday we slept (our sleep) at the guesthouse.
These verbs can also occur in intransitive clauses without any overt object noun
phrase and no previous reference in the context to a potential elided object.
166 Wam=u u=läknga ya–wa amin=u täpä=tu=tä

word=Lnk that=Cl.rope say–1s.DS person=Lnk Cl.stick=one=Abl
a=ya=nage natä–ke=ngu take ya–wik.

PFocus=say=purpose want–SS.Pf=Cond good say–3s.Fut
I have said this speech and if someone wants to speak, he may speak.
167 A–na–hi–gä–wa=yä ako–ga–läk.

PFocus=eat–Dur–s.DIpf–1s.DS=after come.up–s.DIpf–2s.Pr
After I have already eaten you come up.
168 P–ä–ko pek–ga–yo.

pO–take–go.up sleep–s.DIpf–2s.DImp
Go up (inside) and sleep.
For a few semitransitive verbs, the subject of the transitive frame has the semantic
role of agent, while the subject of the intransitive frame has the role of patient. For
example, the verbs det 'detach' and buhapmäng 'knot' have a transitive frame with an
agent subject and a patient object (169, 170), and an intransitive frame with a patient
subject (171, 172). As usual, subject-indexing is marked by a suffix on the verb. (In the
examples, the subject-indexing suffixes and the argument with the role of patient are
underlined.)
Transitive Intransitive
[NPAgent NP Patient __ ] [NP Patient __ ]
Figure 4 Subcategorization Frames for Patient–oriented Semitransitive Verbs
169 Kopi apme de–wit.

coffee later detach–1s.Fut
I'll pick coffee later.
170 Nap buhapmäng–Ø.

rope knot–2s.Imm
Knot the rope.
49
171 Kwalem salin apme de–ke ep–ning, gämänä

tree.sp. seed later detach–SS.Pf come.down–23p.Fut red
ti–ke.
be–SS.Pf
The 'kwalem' seeds will detach and come down when they turn red.
172 Nap täknga=yal=u a=buhapmä–mäläk.

rope Cl.rope=two.def=Top PFocus=knot–23d.Pr
The two ropes knotted.
Most semitransitive verbs do not take object-indexing prefixes, however, there are
a few that do take them. I now consider them in turn.
Semitransitive Verbs with No Object-Indexing Prefix

Most semitransitive verbs do not take object-indexing prefixes. For example,
natäp 'hear' does not take prefixes whether it occurs in a transitive clause (173) or an
intransitive clause (174).
173 … engang=u u=läknga=läknga=nin natä–ke i=xät

child=Top that=Cl.rope=Cl.rope=Indiv hear–SS.Pf 3=with
taka–ka–ying.
grow–p.DIpf–23p.Pr
… the children learn them (the customs) and grow up with them.
174 Kätum=u maläk=ngä=tä do=nata–xa–ying.

deaf=Top ear=3s.Gen=Abl Neg=hear–SIpf–23p.Pr
Deaf people don't hear with their ears.
Semitransitive Verbs with Optional Object-Indexing Prefix

There are three semitransitive verbs that have three subcategorization frames: one
that does not take an object-indexing prefix, and two that require one. These are hang
'cook' and the related words ha–guhing 'cook–soften' and haku 'burn'.
Without the object-indexing prefix, hang and ha–guhing have transitive
subcategorization frames. The subject is an agent (normally human) and is marked by a
suffix on the verb (underlined). The object is the patient (also underlined).
175 Ti lais yang ha–wät na–ka–mäng.

tea rice Comp cook–23d.DS eat–p.DIpf–1p.Pr
You two cooked tea and rice and we ate it.
50
176 Buta moyo ha–guhi–ke p–e–k.

pandanus without cook–soften–SS.Pf pO–leave–3s.Pr
He just pre–cooked the pandanus seeds and left them.
With the object-indexing prefix, the verb has both transitive and intransitive
frames. The transitive frame has a non-human subject (such as gusit 'sun' or däki 'fire')
which is the cause of the burning, and which is indexed as a suffix on the verb. The
object is the patient, and is marked by a prefix on the verb. An overt object noun phrase is
optional.
177 Gusit=dä tokngä hikngä na–ha–ga–k.

sun=Abl hot very 1sO–burn–s.DIpf–3s.Pr
The sun is burning me very much.
178 E amu=sing=gä puku–ke ako däki=tä

Hey down.far=like=Abl go.down–SS.Pf come.up fire=Abl
ni–hi–yäk.
1pO–burn–3s.Appr
Hey, the fire might go down and come up from below and burn us.
When the prefixed verb occurs in a transitive clause, the subject marking and the
object marking on the verb cannot be co-referential (179). To express self-affectedness,
hang is used without the object-indexing prefix and the subject marking is co-referential
with a reflexive pronoun.
179 *Na–ha–t
1sO–cook–1s.Pr
I burned myself.
180 Nina ha–t.

1s.Refl cook–1s.Pr
I burned myself.
The intransitive frame has only one argument, which has the role of patient. Both
the object prefix and the subject suffix agree with it. In this case the verb is an inchoative,
and hang means 'catch fire' or 'burn' (181), 'become dry' (182), or 'light up' (183), and
ha–guhi means 'become soft by cooking' (184).
181 Yot=na a=i–hi–k.

home=1s.Gen PFocus=3sO–cook–3s.Pr
My house caught fire.
51
182 Halu–ke p–e–na yä–ha–ka–ying …

wash–SS.Pf pO–leave–1p.DS 3pO–cook–p.DIpf–23p.Pr
We wash and leave them (our clothes) and they dry, …
183 … tos=u t–ä–pa i–hi–wän …

flashlight=Top sO–take–1s.DS 3sO–cook–3s.DS
… and I turned on the flashlight ….
184 A=ha–wän i–hi–guhi–wän t–e–k.

PFocus=cook–3s.DS 3sO–cook–soften–3s.DS sO–leave–3s.Pr
He cooked it and it became soft and he left it.
Semitransitive Verbs with Obligatory Object-Indexing Prefix
There are a few semitransitive verbs that require an object prefix. These are the
compounds formed by äng 'take' and a motion verb such as kung 'go' or ap 'come'. Both
their transitive and intransitive frames require an object-indexing prefix.
With the transitive frame, they mean 'take (away)' or 'bring' and they may have an
overt object noun phrase. The prefix indicates whether the object is singular (185) or
plural (186). In the examples below, the overt object noun phrase is underlined.
185 … mängälä täpä u=ne t–ä–ku t–e–ning,

female Cl.stick that=Loc sO–take–go sO–leave–23p.Fut
ming=ä=le yol=une.
mother=3.Gen=Dat house=Loc
… they will take the woman and leave her there at his (her fiancé's) mother's house.
186 … kako p–ä–kumäng=u gwälami–ke p–ä–ku kawut=du

cargo pO–take–1p.Pst=Top carry–SS.Pf pO–take–go Cl.part=one
p–e–ke …
pO–leave–SS.Pf
… the things we had taken we carried on our shoulders and put them on the side (of the
road), …
The intransitive frames for these verbs mean simply 'go' or 'come'. Though they
have only one argument, which has the role of agent, they formally require an object-
indexing prefix.
187 T–ä–ko a=ne yiwä–xa–yo.

sO–take–go.up this=Loc stay–SIpf–2s.DImp
Go in and stay here.
188 P–ä–ku pe–kumä=ngä …

pO–take–go sleep–1p.Pst=after
After we went and slept …
52
There seems to be some correlation between the object prefix and the subject-
indexing of the next verb. There is a tendency for the object prefix to be singular when
the subject of the next verb is singular, and for the object prefix to be plural when the
subject of the next verb is plural, as in the examples above. This may indicate that these
verbs are similar to the intransitive frame of hang 'cook' whose object prefix and subject
suffix refer to the same argument. However, this is only a tendency, and the object prefix
may be plural when the subject of the next verb is singular (189), and it may be singular
when the subject of the next verb is plural (190).
189 Gwen=du=ne a=ne=tä ena–ke p–ä–ku Wadot

Cl.lump=one=Loc this=LocAbl rise–SS.Pf pO–take–go Wantoat
pe–kum=nä,
sleep–1s.Pst=after
One day I got up from here and went to Wantoat and slept, and …
190 T–ä–ko mängälä kop–bumäng=u ya–na …

sO–take–go.up female go.up–1p.Pst=Top say–1p.DS
We went up and we told the women we went up (with), and
The use of these forms when they mean simply 'go' or 'come' looks very similar to
what Ross and Lyndal Webb (1995:16) described for Irumu, another language in the
Wantoat family. 'Motion-direction verbs' have a motion verb preceded by what appears to
be the Generic Same Subject medial suffix –päng. They wrote "There is no clear-cut
reason for this behaviour, however it does seem that when this form is used there is little
focus on the motion itself, rather, the motion verb constitutes a necessary 'vehicle' for
getting the agent into position for the following verb action."
6.2.4 Ditransitive Verbs
Ditransitive verbs subcategorize for two arguments in addition to the subject. One
of these is a recipient or an addressee and the other a patient. The recipient or addressee is
typically animate, and is indexed by an object prefix on the verb. The patient is typically
inanimate and is not marked on the verb. This subclass includes the verbs ming 'give'
(191), ning 'tell' (192), and nidämut 'teach' (193), and compounds based on ning 'tell'.
53
191 Patient Recipient

Ti–wän=ä wehe–ke na–ke kawut=du nä=le
be–3s.DS=after split–SS.Pf eat–SS.Pf Cl.part=one 1s=Dat
Object Prefix
na–mi–kut.
1sO–give–3s.Pst
He broke and ate it and gave me some.
192 Addressee Patient Object Prefix

Natä–ke=ngu wäwi täpä wam=u do=yä–ni–ka–ying.
feel–SS.Pf=Cond male Cl.stick word=Top Neg=3pO–tell–p.DIpf–23p.Pr
They feel this way and they don't talk (lit., tell words) to the men.
193 Patient Object Prefix

Anatu=le wam=u apme yä–nidämut–ning?
God=Dat word=Top later 3pO–teach–23p.Fut
Will you teach them God's word?
6.2.5 Benefactive Verbs
Benefactive verbs are formed by compounding the verb ming 'give' with its object
prefix to another verb. The object prefix on ming indexes the person and number of the
argument with the benefactive or malefactive role. Ming can be compounded with
intransitive verb roots (194), with transitive or semitransitive verb roots (195), and with
the ditransitive verb root ning 'tell' (196). However, it cannot be compounded with ming
'give' (197).
194 Tukwang–yä–mi–yäk.
afternoon–3pO–give–3s.Appr
It might get dark on them.
195 Ti–wän=ä nä=le yäx=u bos=na=tä

be–3s.DS=after 1s=Dat bag=Top boss=1s.Gen=Abl
p–ä–nga–mi–kut.
pO–take–1sO–give–3s.Pst
My boss took my bags for me.
196 Ge gä=tä take i–ni–nga–m–iläk?

so 2s=Abl good 3sO–tell–1sO–give–2s.Fut
So could you tell him for me?
197 *Bux=u a=gwäkäm=u take Yaki=le

book=Lnk this=Cl.chunk=Top good Yake=Dat
i–mi–nga–m–iläk?
3sO–give–1sO–give–2s.Fut
Could you give this book to Yaki for me?
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6.3 Inherent Aspect
Awara verbs distinguish two inherent aspects. The class of dynamic verbs is the
larger one and includes typically dynamic words such as kung ‘go’, sipmäng ‘hit’, nang
'eat', and not-so-dynamic words as pek ‘sleep’ and ting ‘be’. The class of static verbs is
smaller: yiwit 'stay', natäp 'hear',25 dup 'see', eng 'leave', and wäm 'follow'.
The distinction between dynamic and static verbs shows up with medial-verb
suffixes: dynamic verbs can be followed by –ka 'plural subject dynamic imperfective'
('p.DIpf'), –ga 'singular subject dynamic imperfective ('s.DIpf') (198), or –xät 'static
imperfective' ('SIpf') (199), while static verbs can only be followed by the static
imperfective (–xät) (200). (See 7.2.6 for a discussion of these suffixes.)
198 Na–ga–wa kutäyi ti–ka–ying

eat–s.DIpf–1s.DS tired be–p.DIpf–23p.Pr
My mouth is tired from eating.
199 t–ä–ko walik–yä–m–a na–xa–wät

sO–take–go.up pour–3pO–give–1s.DS eat–SIpf–23d.DS
epu–ga–t.
come.down–s.DIpf–1s.Pr
… and I took it and poured it for them (the two pigs) and while they ate I came out.
200 Petlus=dä t–ä–ku t–e–xa–wän Susen=dä t–ä–k.

Petrus=Abl sO–take–go sO–leave–SIpf–3s.DS Susan=Abl sO–take–3s.Pr
Petrus took it and left it and Susan took it.
*Petrusdä täku t–e–ga–wän, Susendä täk.
Further, with final-verb suffixes, dynamic verbs only co-occur with the dynamic
imperfective suffixes (–ga, –ka), not with the static one (–xät).
201 Puyä p–aha–ga–wa.

work pO–do–s.DIpf–1s.Imm
I'll do work now.
202 … kawut=du udä do=na–ka–kin.

Cl.part=one all Neg=eat–p.DIpf–23p.Pst
(When the boys would eat it) they would not eat the whole thing.
25
The verb natäp has several senses: 'hear', 'know', 'understand', 'think', 'feel', and 'want'. It is glossed
according to its sense in the examples.
55
Static verbs co-occur with the static imperfective suffix –xät (203–207); they do
not co-occur with the dynamic imperfective suffixes.26
203 Ta–wä–xa–yo.
3sO–follow–SIpf–2s.DImp
Look for it.
*Tä–wä–ga–yo.
3sO–follow–s.DIpf–2s.DImp
204 Ti–wän nin=u a=ne yiwä–xa–mäng, Giyame=xät.

be–3s.DS 1p=Top this=Loc stay–SIpf–1p.Pr Giyame=with
So we are staying here, with Giyame.
205 Ge u=sing moyo u=sing ya–wa natä–xa–läk.

so that=like without that=like say–1s.DS hear–SIpf–2s.Pr
I am telling you this for no reason, and you are hearing it.
206 Na–du–xa–läk ti–wän ga–du–xa–t.

1sO–see–SIpf–2s.Pr be–3s.DS 2sO–see–SIpf–1s.Pr
You see me. And that being (the case), I see you.
207 P–äk–apu wäwi täpä=le yol=une u=ne

pO–take–come male Cl.stick=Dat home=Loc that=Loc
p–e–xa–ying.
pO–leave–SIpf–23p.Pr
They bring them and leave them there at the man's house.
26
The only exception is with the suffix –nage 'soon' which is obligatorily followed by -ga or -ka. It is
never followed by -xät, even with static verbs. Ane päkapu yiwit–nage–ga–k. 'He's about to come sit
here.' *Ane päkapu yiwit–nage–xa–k.
7 VERBAL MORPHOLOGY
This chapter describes derivational verb stem morphology (7.1) and inflectional
morphology (7.2). Derivational verb stem morphology deals with lexical compounding,
benefactive compounding with the verb ming 'give', and the derivational suffix –ta
'become'. Inflectional morphology includes object-indexing prefixes, subject-indexing
suffixes, aspect suffixes, and temporal suffixes.
7.1 Derivational Verb Stem Morphology
Awara has two means for deriving verb stems: compounding and forming verbs
from nouns via the addition of the derivational suffix –ta 'become'. In this section, the
morpheme breaks within the stem are shown and glossed. In the rest of the paper,
however, where the focus is not on derivational morphology, these morpheme breaks are
generally not shown. The exception is that they are shown with benefactive compounds
and compounds derived from motion verbs.
7.1.1 Lexical Compounding

Awara has two major types of compound verbs: noun-verb and verb-verb
compounds.
Noun-verb compounds have a noun followed by a verb root. In (208), tut–det
'nail–detach' is a noun-verb compound which indicates the type of instrument used. In
(209), gup–det 'skin–detach' is a noun-verb compound in which indicates the type of
object affected. Evidence that these are compounds is that a= 'predicate focus', which
immediately precedes the verb,27 comes before tut 'nail' rather than after it (208),
showing that tut is part of the verb.
27
Only the words hikngä 'real', =bä 'dubitative', and bimä 'like' and the object prefixes come between a=
'predicate focus' and the verb stem.
56
57
208 A=lut–de–ke na–ka–ying=unin.

PFocus=nail–detach–SS.Pf eat–p.DIpf–23p.Pr=Indiv
They pick them with the fingernails and eat them (breadfruit).
209 Wänäm=u gwen=du u=ne tang–u–ke

cassowary=Lnk Cl.lump=one that=Loc 3sO–hit–SS.Pf
gup–de–ke …
skin–detach–SS.Pf
We killed a cassowary there and skinned it and …
Verb-verb compounds consist of two verb roots. The clearest cases of verb-verb
compounds are those that involve äng 'take' followed by a motion verb such as apu
'come' or kung 'go'. Compounds with a verb for 'come' mean 'bring' (210), while those
with a verb for 'go' mean 'take (away)' (211).
210 Yagä kalux=u t–äk–apu na–m–Ø.

water new=Top s0–take–come 1sO–give–2s.Imm
Bring me some (a cup of) cold water.
211 … apek=ngä=le yol=une t–ä–ku t–e–na …

mother.in.law=3.Gen=Dat house=Loc sO–take–go sO–leave–1p.DS
… we take her and leave her at her mother–in–law's house and …
Awara has six such compounds. All six have senses which do not literally mean
'bring' or 'take something'. Rather, they can also be used for simply 'coming' or 'going'.
Though the morpheme äng 'take' is part of the compound, its meaning is not always part
of it.
212 T–ä–ku yol=u gäpang=gu Kontlon yang

sO–take–go village=Lnk Cl.village=one Kontron Comp
i–ni–ka–ying p–ä–ku u=ne pe–kumäk=ngä

3sO–tell–p.DIpf–23p.Pr pO–take–go that=Loc sleep–1d.Pst=after
We went and we went to a village they call Kontron, and after we slept there, …
Following are more examples of compound verbs whose meanings are not
compositionally derived from those of the component verb roots. Äng–gägänut 'take–set'
means 'care for' (213) and ni–mit 'tell–laugh' means 'laugh at' (214).
213 Ti–wän Yesu u=läpä=tä yagä amin=ä nomän

be–3s.DS Jesus that=Cl.stick=Abl water person=3.Gen good
p–äng–gägänuk–ga–x=unin.
pO–take–set–s.DIpf–3s.Pr=Indiv
This Jesus cares for his baptized people well.
58
214 Ti=wän pailot=dä ka–ke a=i–ni–mi–kut.

be–3s.DS pilot=Abl see.3sO–SS.Pf PFocus=3sO–tell–laugh–3s.Pst
The pilot saw and laughed at her.
Awara also has serial-verb constructions consisting of two adjacent verb stems
used to describe complex events. The reasons for positing that Awara has both verb-verb
compounds and serial-verb constructions are discussed in 11.2.
7.1.2 Benefactive Compounds
Benefactive notions are expressed by compounds containing the verb ming 'give'.
McElhanon (1973:49) notes this to be a common feature of Papuan languages spoken on
the Huon Peninsula.

The semantically main verb stem is immediately followed by ming with ming's
object-indexing prefix. (215) shows ming with its object prefix functioning as a main
verb in the clause. (216) shows the same form compounded to the verb root gatäp,
functioning as the BENEFACTIVE.
215 hiyäkän Anatu=tä hangä naxalä ni–mi–kut.

truth God=Abl thing much 1pO–give–3s.Pst
… and, true, God gave us many things.
216 … hangä ngäkge=kän gatä–ni–mi–ga–k.

thing much=only help–1pO–give–s.DIpf–3s.Pr
… he helps us with many things.
The object prefix of ming indicates the person and number of the benefactee or
malefactee. The benefactee is one is positively impacted by the action, while the
malefactee is one who is negatively impacted by the action or event. In example (217),
the benefactee is first person singular. In example (218) the malefactee is first person
plural.
217 bolom=u u=gwen=u haluk–nga–mi–kut.

lump=Lnk that=Cl.lump=Top wash–1sO–give–3s.Pst
he washed the bump for me.
218 hopä inälung bä buläbam hikngä apu ta–ni–mi–kut.

rain big or big real come rain–1pO–give–3s.Pst
… and a big rain came and rained on us.
59
A verb compounded with ming can have more than one object prefix: a prefix
preceding the first verb indicating its object, and a prefix preceding ming indicating the
BENEFACTIVE. In the next example, ahang 'do' has the prefix t– which agrees with the
singular object kahit=nä 'his road', while the BENEFACTIVE formed with ming indicates
the one for whom the passage was paid.
219 … gup=nä kwak=gä kahit=nä t–aha–ngäm–än

skin=3.Gen light=Abl road=3.Gen sO–do–3sO–give–3s.DS
… and the white man made a road for him (paid his way) (and he came back to Wau).
An indication that some kind of grammatical reanalysis has taken place and that
this is not simply a serial-verb construction is that the forms of two of the object prefixes
differ in the benefactive construction. For example, in the serial-verb construction (as
when alone) the form of the first person singular object prefix is na– (220), while in the
benefactive construction, its form is nga– (221).
220 P–äk–apu na–mi–yo.

pO–take–come 1sO–give–2s.DImp
Bring them to me. (lit., Bring them and give them to me.)
221 P–äk–apu–nga–mi–yo.
pO–take–come–1sO–give–2s.DImp
Bring them for me.
In addition, the third person singular object prefix is normally i– (222), but in the
central region, the third person singular object prefix in the BENEFACTIVE is ngä– (223).
The variety of Awara spoken at Hikwang village in the northern region, however, uses i–
for both the non–compounded form and the BENEFACTIVE compound.
222 T–ä–ku i–mi–yo.

sO–take–go 3sO–give–2s.DImp
Take it to him. (lit., Take and give it to him.)
223 T–ä–ke ku–ngä–mi–yo.

sO–take–SS.Pf go–3sO–give–2s.DImp
Take it for him. (lit., Take it and go for him.)
The form of the third person singular object prefix in the benefactive construction,
ngä– (224), is the same as one of the allomorphs of the third person genitive clitic =nä,
which is bound to the end of nouns and classifier phrases. The allomorph=ngä is used
following velars (225). The use of the form ngä– in the benefactive construction rather
60
than the form i– which is used on independent verbs, may indicate that the benefactive
construction, which started out as a serial-verb construction, is being reanalyzed as a
string of verb suffixes: a benefactive-indexing suffix followed by the benefactive
derivational suffix –mi.
224 Dokta=tä ma=yä sik–ngä–mi–ga–k.

doctor=Abl tooth=3.Gen loosen–3sO–give–s.DIpf–3s.Pr
The doctor is pulling out her tooth for her.
225 nasik=ngä
uncle=3.Gen
his uncle
When the clause has an overt, phrasal benefactive constituent, the constituent
consists of a postpositional phrase headed by =te 'dative' ('Dat'). In (226) the
BENEFACTIVE in the second clause is co-referential with nä=le '1s=dative. The same
postposition follows the object recipients of ming 'give' when it functions as the main
verb of the clause (227).
226 Pig p–aha–ngä–mi–ke awä nä=le do=w–aha–nga–mi–kut

top pO–do–3s0–give–SS.Pf and 1s=Dat Neg=pO–do–1sO–give–3s.Pst
gwen=du=n.
Cl.lump=one=Dis
He made a top for him, but he didn't make one for me.
227 Ti–wän=ä wehe–ke na–ke kawut=du nä=le

be–3s.DS=after split–SS.Pf eat–SS.Pf Cl.part=one 1s=Dat
na–mi–kut.
1sO–give–3s.Pst
He broke and ate it and gave some to me.
There are at least three major possibilities for analyzing the structure of
benefactive verbs. One possibility was alluded to above—that there are really two
suffixes: the suffix indicating the person and number of the benefactee/malefactee which
is bound to the verb stem, and a suffix –mi (historically derived from ming 'give')
indicating that the first suffix is benefactive. A co-occurrence constraint would be needed
to prevent either of the suffixes from occurring without the other. Evidence for this is that
the form used for third person singular, –ngä, is similar to the third person genitive,
=nä/=ngä, which is bound to noun stems or classifier phrases. A variation on this
61
analysis would recognize just one suffix which was historically two morphemes but
which has now become fused. What would make this analysis somewhat strange is that
languages that use inflectional morphology for benefactive-indexing also normally have
inflectional morphology for indirect object-indexing. Awara, however, does not have
indirect object indexing on the verb.
Another possibility is that benefactive constructions are verb phrases consisting of
two nuclei: the main verb and ming 'give'. The syntactic relationship between the two
verbs is different from the relationship held between verbs in serial-verb constructions; in
benefactive constructions ming functions as an auxiliary verb. The difference in shape of
the object prefixes preceding ming is due to that fact that in benefactive constructions
they are phonologically bound to the main verb stem, whereas in serial-verb
constructions they are not.
The third possibility is that ming 'give' receives its object-indexing prefix and
then is compounded to the preceding verb stem. Supporting evidence for this is the fact
that benefactive arguments in the clause are followed by =te 'dative' just as the recipients
of ming are. The theoretical problem with this analysis, though, is that it involves an
inflectional affix coming between two roots in a compound. Normally derivation is
understood to precede inflection. Nevertheless, this is the analysis used in this paper.
7.1.3 Verbs formed with –ta 'become'
Some nouns can combine with the suffix –ta 'become' to form verbs. This suffix
has four allomorphs: –la after vowels (228), –ka after underlying velars (229), –ta after
an underlying /t/ or /n/ (230), and –da after other consonants (231). (The underlying
forms of the nouns in (229) and (230) are kitok 'strong' and kupit 'angry'.)
228 kupän=u a=wuyä–pa i–hi däpi–la–kul=u

tobaccoo=Top PFocus=blow-1s.DS 3sO–cook short–become–3s.Pst=Top
the tobacco that I smoked and it burned and became short
229 … i=tä ya–x=une t–ä–pa kito–ka–ga–k.

3=Abl say–3s.Pr=Loc sO–take–1s.DS strong–become–s.DIpf–3s.Pr
From where she spoke I'm strengthening it. (I'm adding to what she said.)
62
230 A–xupi–ta–ga–k.
angry–become–s.DIpf–3s.Pr
He is angry.
231 bulip–da–kut täpä=xatän

bush–become–3s.Pst Cl.stick=in
where it became forest
Some noun roots, when not compounded with another noun, require the
nominalizer suffix –yä to form a noun stem. It is only the root without –yä that combines
with –ta 'become' to form a verb stem. For example, –ta is suffixed to the forms hakät
'yellow' (232) and buläm 'ignorant' (233), rather than to hakäl–ä 'yellow' and buläm–nä
'ignorant–Nom'.
232 Gles a=xum–ning=ge hakä–ta–ying.

grass PFocus=die–23p.DS=Dat yellow–become–23p.Pr
The grass turned yellow because it is about to die.
233 a=buläm–da–kum.
PFocus=ignorant–become–1s.Pst
I forgot.
7.2 Verbal Inflection
The overall order of inflectional affixes occurring on verbs is summarized below:
V‡ (Object) Verb Stem (Temporal) (Aspect) (Subject/Tense/Mood).
7.2.1 Object-Indexing Prefixes

Some transitive verbs (as well as the three ditransitive verbs and a few
semitransitive verbs) require prefixes that indicate the identity of the object. As noted in
6.2.2, there are two sets of object-indexing prefixes. Seven verbs take a set that
distinguishes only the number of the object, while thirteen take a fuller set that
distinguishes both person and number. See 6.2.2 for the list of these roots.
The two sets of object-indexing prefixes are shown in tables (12) and (13).
Table 12 Number Object Prefixes

Singular Plural
t- p-, ya-
63
Table 13 Person/Number Object Prefixes

Singular Plural
1 na- ni-
2 ga- da-
3 i-/ ta- yä-
The number object prefixes are used regardless of the person of the object.
Examples (234) and (235) illustrate singular object prefixes used with first person and
third person objects, and (236) and (237) show plural object prefixes used with first and
third person objects.
234 Ko t–ä–ke t–äk–epu Wanuma nä–pmä–bän …

go.up sO–take–SS.Pf sO–take–come.down Wanuma 1sO–leave–3s.DS
It (a plane) went up and took me and brought me down and left me at Wanuma, …
235 U=sing ninane mängät=na t–ä–kum=däne

that=like 1s.Refl.Gen wife=1s.Gen sO–take–1s.Pst=Poss
engang=u täpä=tu kum–gut.

child=Lnk Cl.stick=one die–3s.Pst
My own wife's (the woman I took) child died.
236 Take=bä nin=u p–ä–ke ku–wiläk?

good=Dub 1p=Top pO–take–SS.Pf go–2s.Fut
Maybe it would be good for you to take us and go? (Request for a pilot to take them)
237 Mängäl=u kaluk p–ä–ka–ying=gäne ya–nage–ga–t.

wife=Lnk new pO–take–p.DIpf–23p.Pr=Poss say–soon–s.DIpf–1s.Pr
I will speak about (how) they take new wives.
The form of the plural object used with six of the verbs that take number object
prefixes is p–. However, the form of the plural object used with the verb emäng 'write,
shoot' is ya–; not p– (239).
238 Ti–wän pas=u a=l–emä-ke ni–mi–kin.

So they wrote a letter and gave it to us.
239 Uman–in=u a=ya-mä–k.

name-1p.Gen=Top PFocus=pO-write-3s.Pr
He already wrote our names (signed us up).
The following sentence illustrates the first person plural object prefix on nidämut
'teach'.
64
240 … ming-in=dä ni–nidämum-bä nin=täyä u=sing=gän

mother=1p.Gen=Abl 1pO-teach-23p.DS 1p=also that=like=only
payi–ka–mäng.
crochet–p.DIpf–1p.Pr
… our mothers taught us, and we also crochet just like that.
Most of the thirteen verbs that take person/number object prefixes use the prefix
i– for third person singular as in (241).
241 Ku ka–ke=ngä i–ni–kum.

go see.3sO–SS.Pf=after 3sO–tell–1s.Pst
I went and saw him and spoke to him.
Wäm 'follow' is the exception in that it uses tä– for third person singular (242).
242 Ti–wän deyä apma=sim u=läknga do=lä–wä–xa–mäng.

be–3s.DS but now=Dim that=Cl.rope Neg=3sO–follow–SIpf–1p.Pr
But now we don't follow that.
Some verbs use a combination of object prefixes and suppletive verb stem
morphology to indicate the person and number of the object. 28 These verbs include
among others dup 'see', sipmäng 'hit', hang 'cook', and hang 'bite'.
The verb dup 'see' has three allomorphs: dup for first and second person objects
(243), kang for third singular object (244), and dayip for third plural object (245). The
first and second person forms take object prefixes, but the third person forms do not.
Table 14 dup 'see'

Singular Plural
1 na–dup ni–dup
2 ga–dup da–dup
3 kang dayip
243 Na–du–xa–läk ti–wän ga–du–xa–t.

1sO–see–SIpf–2s.Pr be–3s.DS 2sO–see–SIpf–1s.Pr
You see me and I see you. (lit., You see me. Being so, I see you.)
244 Ti–wän nä do=xa–kum Gilingdeng=un.

be–3s.DS 1s Neg=see.3sO–1s.Pst Gilingdeng=Dis
Well, I didn't see Gilingdeng.
28
Verbs with suppletive forms indicating the object that do not take object prefixes are glossed with the
person and number of the object following the name of the verb. For example, the third person singular and
plural forms of dup 'see' are glossed respectively 'see.3sO' and 'see.3pO'.
65
245 Nin=u do=dayip–bumäng

1p=Top Neg=see.3pO–1p.Pst
We did not see them.
The verb sipmäng 'hit' has two suppletive allomorphs: uk for singular objects
(246, 247), and sipmäng/hipmäng for plural objects (248). All the forms take an object
prefix except for third person plural (249). The allomorph sipmäng is used in third
person plural when the stem is word initial, and the allomorph hipmäng is used
following the plural object prefixes, both of which end in vowels.
Table 15 sipmäng 'hit'

Singular Plural
1 n–uk ni–hipmäng
2 g–uk da–hipmäng
3 tang–uk sipmäng
246 Ina=le n–uk–ga–läk?

what=Dat 1sO–hit–s.DIpf–2s.Pr
Why did you hit me?
247 … tang–u–ke i–ni–gämätä–ga–t.

3s0–hit–SS.Pf 3sO–tell–Persist–s.DIpf–1s.Pr
… I hit her and scolded her.
248 Hamäk i–pit=de t–äha–ke da–hip–sät, gil=un.

grass cut–1s.Fut=Dat sO–do–SS.Pf 2pO–hit–1s.Appr 2d=Dis
I might try to cut the kunai grass and hit you two.
249 Sipma–ke sip–na ti–ka–ying.

hit.3pO–SS.Pf hit.3pO–1p.DS cry–p.DIpf–23p.Pr
We hit them and we hit them and they cry.
The verbs hang 'bite' and hang 'cook' are homophonous and have two
allomorphs: hang with most object prefixes (250, 251), and hing with the third person
singular object prefix i– (252, 253) and the first person plural prefix ni–.
Table 16 hang 'bite/cook'

Singular Plural
1 na–hang ni–hing
2 ga–hang da–hang
3 i–hing yä–hang
250 … a=yiwi–t=ätan a–pän apu na–ha–yäk.

PFocus=stay–1s.Pr=at come–3s.DS come 1sO–bite–3s.Appr
… it might come to where I am and bite me.
66
251 Halu–ke p–e–na yä–ha–ka–ying.

wash–SS.Pf pO–leave–1p.DS 3pO–cook–p.DIpf–23p.Pr
We wash them (coffee beans) and put them out and they dry.
252 … kälap=dä epu katak=ngä=ne i–hi–kut, Matai=n.

animal=Abl come.down hand=3.Gen=Loc 3sO–bite–3s.Pst Matai=Dis
… the animal came down and bit Matai on the hand.
253 Yot t–aha–wän i–hi–k käpä adan?

home sO–do–3s.DS 3sO–cook–3s.Pr Cl.stick here
Is the person who made the house burn here?
7.2.2 Verb Suffix Classes
Awara verbs have three suffix order classes. A verb may have only one suffix
from each class. Class 1 suffixes mark temporals, class 2 suffixes mark aspect, and class
3 suffixes mark subject-indexing along with either tense or modality.29
Table 17 Verb Suffixes

Stem 1 Temporal30 2 Aspect 3 Subject-Indexing
+ Tense/Mode
-gämätä 'Persist' -ga 's.DIpf' Final Verbs
-hi 'Dur' -ka 'p.DIpf' -t '1s.Pr'
-nage 'soon' -xät 'SIpf' -kum ' 1s.Pst'
-pit '1s.Fut'
-yot '1s.DImp'
-pa '1s.Imm'
-pam '1s.Hyp'
-yät '1s.Appr'
-pänak '3s.Prob'
Medial Verbs
-pa '1s.DS'
-ke 'SS.Pf'
-hika 'SS.DurPf'31
-xawik 'SS.Ipf'
™
29
Clauses may be governed by postpositions such as =te 'dative' or =ngu 'conditional' or by =unin
'Individuator'. =Unin and some of the postpositions are phonologically bound to the verb, but as they are
syntactically separate, they are not included in Table 17.
30
Unlike aspect in Awara, which is a grammatical category dealing with the distinction between perfective
and imperfective, the temporal suffixes are less systematic and might better be treated as derivational
suffixes.
31
The suffix -hika 'SS durative perfective" is not the same as –hi–ka 'Dur–p.DIpf' (durative-plural subject
dynamic imperfective). -Hika is used only in same-subject medial clauses and is never followed by another
class 3 suffix. It is used whether the subject is singular or plural. -Hi–ka is only used in different-subject
medial clauses and is followed by a plural DIFFERENT SUBJECT suffix. It alternates with -hi–ga 'Dur-s.DIpf'
(durative-singular subject dynamic imperfective), which is used with singular subjects.
67
Co–occurrence restrictions are as follows. Of the temporal suffixes, –gämäta

'repeat' apparently can be followed by any class 2 or 3 suffix. The suffix –hi 'durative' can
be followed by the dynamic imperfective, DIFFERENT SUBJECT, and PRESENT TENSE
suffixes.32 The suffix –nage 'soon' is obligatorily followed by a dynamic imperfective
suffix and a PRESENT TENSE suffix. The aspect suffixes can be followed by all but the
SAME SUBJECT medial-verb suffixes, or the APPREHENSION or PROBABLE irrealis suffixes.
Understanding classes 1 and 2 depends on understanding the subject-indexing
suffixes, so the subject-indexing suffixes are discussed first.
7.2.3 Subject-Indexing Suffixes

Class 3 consists of subject-indexing suffixes. A verb can have only one of these
suffixes.
There are two kinds of subject-indexing suffixes: those that occur on verbs in
independent clauses and certain dependent clauses, and those that occur on verbs in
cosubordinate clauses and in certain serial-verb constructions.
Since independent clauses normally occur at the end of the sentence, their verbs
are termed "final verbs", and their suffixes are "final-verb suffixes". Final-verb suffixes
indicate the person and number of the subject along with either tense or modality. In
addition to independent clauses, they can also be used on clauses that are followed by a
postposition. The final-verb suffixes are described in 7.2.4.
Since cosubordinate clauses normally precede the independent clause, their verbs
are termed "medial verbs", and their subject-indexing suffixes are termed "medial-verb
suffixes".
Medial-verb suffixes do not indicate tense or modality. Rather, they indicate
whether the subject of the clause in which they occur is the same as or different from the
subject of a subsequent clause. Those that mark different-subject indicate the person and
number of the subject of the clause in which they occur directly, as well as indicating that
that subject is different from that of a following clause. Those that mark same-subject
32
More on the combinations of suffixes that follow –hi 'durative' is given in section 7.2.7.
68
indicate only that their subject is the same as that of a following clause. These medial-
verb suffixes are described in 7.2.5.33
First I present the suffixes that directly indicate the person and number of the
subject. Then I discuss each set of subject-indexing suffixes.
The following table shows all the suffixes that directly indicate the person and
number of the subject.
Table 18 Subject–Indexing Suffixes Occurring on Verbs

1s 2s 3s 1d 23d 1p 23p
Final-verb suffixes
Present t läk k mäk mäläk mäng ying
Past kum kuläk kut kumäk kumäläk kumäng kin
Future pit piläk pik him himäläk nim ning
Apprehension sät sä säk häm hän näm näng
Default Imperative sot so sok hom hon nom nong
Immediate Imp. Mood pa (Ø) pän ta kun na kut
Hypothetical pam pim pän tam pät nam päm
Probable34 – – pänak – pälak – päyak
Medial-verb suffixes
Different Subject pa pi pän ta pät na pä
A comparison of the forms above shows similarities that suggest that they could
be analyzed as being composed of two suffixes; the first indicating tense, modality or
different-subject, and the second indicating the person and number of the subject. The
following table shows what these suffixes would be. For example, –ku would be 'past',
–pi, –hi and –ni 'future', –t '1s', –läk '2s', and –k '3s'.
33
Because medial-verb suffixes indicate whether there is a switch or continuity in the reference of the
subject, they are also referred to in the literature as "switch-reference suffixes."
34
The PROBABLE subject suffixes apparently have only third person forms.
69
Table 19 Tense, Modality and Different-Subject Suffixes followed by Subject-Indexing

Suffixes
1s 2s 3s 1d 23d 1p 23p
Final-verb suffixes
Present Ø -t Ø -läk Ø -k Ø -mäk Ø -mäläk Ø -mäng Ø -ying
Past ku-m ku -läk ku -t ku -mäk ku -mäläk ku -mäng k -in
Future pi -t pi -läk pi -k hi -m hi -mäläk ni -m ni -ng
Apprehension sä -t sä -Ø sä -k hä -m hä -n nä -m nä -ng
Default Imperative so -t so -Ø so -k ho -m ho -n no -m no -ng
Immediate pa -Ø Ø -Ø pä -n ta -Ø ku -n na -Ø ku -t
Imperative Mood
Hypothetical pa -m pi -m pä -n ta -m pä -t na -m pä -m
Probable pä -nak pä -lak pä -yak
Medial-verb suffixes
Different Subject pa -Ø pi -Ø pä -n ta -Ø pä -t na -Ø pä -Ø
However, many of these suffixes would have multiple forms and, though there are
some patterns, it is difficult to state a generality about when different allomorphs are
used. For example, first person singular would be marked by –t with the PRESENT,
FUTURE, DEFAULT IMPERATIVE and APPREHENSION, –m with PAST and HYPOTHETICAL,
and apparently null (or unmarked) with IMMEDIATE IMPERATIVE MOOD. But none of the
other persons have a similar arrangement of their allomorphs.
It may well be possible to develop an analysis that treats these suffixes as
combinations of two (or more) morphemes. However, a satisfactory analysis of this sort
has not yet been completed, and for simplicity in presenting the facts in the rest of this
paper, I have treated them as unitary morphemes.
7.2.4 Final-Verb Subject–Indexing Suffixes

There are three sets of final-verb subject-indexing suffixes: those indicating tense,
those indicating imperative and hortative modality, and those indicating various other
types of irrealis modalities.
Tense Suffixes
Awara has three sets of subject-indexing suffixes that indicate tense: PAST,
PRESENT, and FUTURE. These three sets of suffixes are used for both declarative and
interrogative sentences.
70
In subordinate clauses tense can be marked relative to the time of the

superordinate clause rather than to the time of speaking. This is shown with the PRESENT
and FUTURE TENSES.35
Table 20 Present Tense

Singular Dual Plural
1 -t -mäk -mäng
2 -läk -mäläk -ying
3 -k
PRESENT TENSE suffixes are used for events that take place in the present or that
have present relevance. When there is no aspect suffix preceding it, PRESENT TENSE
indicates that the event happened today (254) or at some earlier time but is still in effect
(255, 256). That time can be several years earlier as in (256) where the speaker tells about
when he and his wife got married.
254 Engang=ge nak p–ä–ko ku–k.

child=Dat food pO–take–go.up go–3s.Pr
She brought the child's food and went.
255 Towiyä buläbam gwe=nal=u a=li–mäläk.

pig big Cl.lump=two=Top PFocus=be–23d.Pr
The two pigs have become big. (lit., The pigs have become two big ones.)
256 Ti–ke awä nil=u banip=nil=u buläkän gwen ti–wän

be–SS.Pf and 1d=Top inside=1d.Gen=Top unit Cl.lump be–3s.DS
yiwi–mäk.
stay–1d.Pr
Well, we two, our hearts were one, and we were (together).
PRESENT TENSE suffixes can be used in subordinate clauses to express tense

relative to that of the superordinate clause. In (257) the final verb, ha–kut, is marked
PAST TENSE. Yet apu–ying=ge is subordinated to ya–ke=ngä and is marked PRESENT
TENSE to refer to an event that happened earlier that day.
35
The PAST TENSE suffixes have not been found to indicate relative tense.
71
257 Ha-ke p–e-kumäng=ge kwep=dä=tä ena–ke=ngu

cook-SS.Pf pO–leave–1p.Pst=Dat ±1.day=Abl=Abl rise–SS.Pf=Cond
[miting=ge apu–ying=ge] ya–ke=ngä papa=tä

meeting=Dat come–23p.Pr=Dat talk–SS.Pf=after father=Abl
mata–ke ha–kut.
cut-SS.Pf cook-3s.Pst
Because we cooked (the hair) and left them, the next day when he go up, Papa thought of
those who came for the meeting, and cut them (the animals) and cooked them.
When a PRESENT TENSE suffix is preceded by the aspect suffixes –ga 'singular
dynamic imperfective', –ka 'plural dynamic imperfective', or –xät 'static imperfective',
the event is understood to occur over a period of time that includes the time of speech or
to have occurred immediately before the time of speech (see 7.2.6).
258 Wuyä=ne ku–ga–t.

garden=Loc go–s.DIpf–1s.Pr
I'm going to the garden.
Table 21 Past Tense

1 –kum ~ –bum –kumäk ~ –bumäk –kumäng ~ –bumäng
2 –kuläk ~ –buläk –kumäläk ~ –bumäläk –kin ~ –bin
3 –kut ~ –but
The PAST TENSE suffixes are used for events that occurred before today. In (259) it
is used with an event that takes place over a relatively short period of time, and in (260) it
is used with an event that occurred over a longer period of time.
259 Kwew=u Titi=xät nä=xät puyä–na=ne ku–kumäk.

±1.day=Top Titi=with 1s=with garden–1s.Gen=Loc go–1d.Pst
Yesterday Titi and I went to my garden.
260 Tupä nä wawakdäkä yiwi–kum=une nä=tä u=sing

before 1s child stay–1s.Pst=Loc 1s=Abl that=like
t–aha–kum.
sO–do–1s.Pst
When I was a boy, I did this.
In the variety of Awara spoken at Tawaya and Yapurak, the PAST TENSE suffixes
have allomorphs beginning with /b/ after bilabials. In the other central villages and in the
northern villages, /g/ is used instead in this environment.
72
261 Ti–wän=ä kupiläne=yä ap–bumäk yol=une=n.

be–3s.DS=after night=after come–1d.Pst village=Loc=Dis
Then at night we came home.
Table 22 Future Tense

1 –pit ~ –wit ~ –bit –him ~ –sim –nim
2 –piläk ~ –wiläk ~ –biläk –himäläk ~ –simäläk –ning
3 –pik ~ –wik ~ –bik
The FUTURE TENSE suffixes are used for events in both the immediate (262) and
the distant future (263).
262 Ge stoli däpi wäm=sim ya–wit.

so story short Cl.place=Dim say–1s.Fut
So I will tell a short story.
263 apme mahan=de tapdux=u wasekngä gwen=ne=yä kep

later behind=Dat time=Lnk last Cl.lump=Loc=after ground
wäsi–wik.
loosen–3s.Fut
Later, at the last day, the earth will end.
The FUTURE TENSE suffixes can be used in subordinate clauses referring to events
that are not future at the time of speech, but are future in relation to the superordinate
clause. In (264) ako–pit=de is marked FUTURE TENSE relative to ya–kum. The event is
not necessarily realized, as indicated by the conjunction deyä 'but'.
264 U=sing tebanä ako–pit=de ya–kum deyä …

that=like morning come.up–1s.Fut=Dat say–1s.Pst but
I said I would come up in the morning, but . . .
The FUTURE TENSE suffixes can also be used in subordinate clauses which set up a
hypothetical situation as an example in order to explain a customary or habitual action.
Example (265) comes from a text about marriage customs. The discussion about the
customs uses PRESENT TENSE suffixes preceded by a suffix that indicates imperfective
aspect such as –ka 'plural dynamic imperfective' or –xät 'static imperfective'. The
hypothetical situation in the example below is marked with –pik '3s"future'.
73
265 Mängälä adan nanä=tä p–ä–ka–ying=u u=sing

female here from=Abl pO–take–p.DIpf–23p.Pr=Cond that=like
t–aha–ka–ying. Amin täpä=tu inä baniy=ä

sO–do–p.DIpf–23p.Pr person Cl.stick=one 3.Emph inside=3.Gen
gwen=ä ti–wän mängälä täpä=tu t–ä–pik.

Cl.lump=3.Gen be–3s.DS female Cl.stick=one sO–take–3s.Fut
T–ä–pän=u mängälä u=läpä=le nanämingä

sO–take–3s.DS=Cond female that=Cl.stick=Dat parent
tokngä hikngä natä–xa–ying=unin.

angry real feel–SIpf–23p.Pr=Indiv
When people from here get wives, this is how they do it. A man will take a woman of his
own choosing. If he takes her, the woman's parents feel very angry.
Imperative Mood Suffixes

Awara has two sets of subject-indexing suffixes that indicate imperative mood.
Though the second set is made up of both imperatives and hortatives, all of the suffixes in
these two sets are referred to in this paper as IMPERATIVE MOOD suffixes. Clauses with
these suffixes are distinct from clauses with any of the others sets of subject-indexing
suffixes in that they can be negated with ma= 'prohibitive' rather than with do= 'negative'.
These two sets of suffixes are termed DEFAULT IMPERATIVE MOOD ('DImp') and
IMMEDIATE IMPERATIVE MOOD ('Imm'). I consider them in turn.
Table 23 Default Imperative Mood

1 –sot ~ –yot –hom ~ –som –nom
2 –so ~ –yo –hon ~ –son –nong
3 –sok ~ –yok
The DEFAULT IMPERATIVE set of suffixes has forms for all three persons, and is
used for commands and obligations. The first and third persons are treated as imperatives
rather than as hortatives because their forms are so much like the second person forms.
Suffixes beginning with /s/ have allomorphs beginning with /y/, and those beginning with
/h/ have allomorphs beginning with /s/. I first illustrate second and third person
imperatives, as the first person examples are interpreted by analogy with the others.
Second person forms are used in leave takings (266), exhortations (267), pleas
(268), instructions (269), and commands or prohibitions (270, 271).
74
266 Ku–ka–nong.
go–p.DIpf–23p.DImp
You all go.
267 "Wam=u wäyi yä–wa na–ni–näng" yang=u

language=Top bad say–1s.DS 1sO–tell–23p.Appr Comp=Top
ma=natäp–son.
Proh=think–23d.DImp
Don't think, "If I speak poorly they'll yell at me."
268 Takeläpä gä=tä gatä–nga–mi–yo.

Lord 2s=Abl help–1s0–give–2s.DImp
Lord, help me.
269 "Yäx=u a=sing payi–yo …" \yang yä–nidämu–ka–kin.

bag=Top this=like crochet–2s.DImp Comp 3pO–teach–p.DIpf–23p.Pst
They used to teach them "Crochet string bags like this …"
270 T–ä–ko a=ne yiwä–xa–yo.

sO–take–go.up this=Loc stay–SIpf–2s.DImp
Go in and stay here. (said by a policeman taking someone to jail)
271 Ma=xu–yo.
Prohib=go–2s.DImp
Don't go.
Third person forms are used for third person obligations (272) and prohibitions
(273).
272 A–na–yok.
PFocus=eat–3s.DImp
He must eat it.
273 Ma=hikngä epu-xu–yok.

Prohib=real come.down–go–3s.DImp
It truly must not come out. (The money must not be taken out of the tin.)
The third person forms are also used in serial-verb constructions and clause chains
when telling someone to do something that will have a desired affect on a third person
referent. Second person is marked on a medial verb and third person DEFAULT
IMPERATIVE is marked on the final. The imperative force marked on the final verb really
applies, not to the final verb, but to the medial clause with the second person DIFFERENT
SUBJECT suffix. These forms are used in instructions (274) and commands/prohibitions
(275).
75
274 A=w–e–wi puku–nong.

PFocus=pO–leave–2s.DS go.down–23p.DImp
Swallow them (lit., Let them go down).
275 Ma=w–äk–e–pät det–nong.

Prohib=pO–take–come.down–23p.DS loose–23p.DImp
Don't loosen them. (lit., Don't take them down so that they come loose.)
First person DEFAULT IMPERATIVE suffixes are used in the final clause of a chain
in commands or requests involving a first person subject. The medial clause preceding it
has the second singular DIFFERENT SUBJECT suffix. Again, as with the third person
imperative suffixes described above, the imperative force marked on the final verb
applies to the medial verb.
276 A–xa–ke=ngä ya–wi ka–yot.

PFocus=see.3sO–SS.Pf=after say–2s.DS see.3sO–1s.DImp
When you see one, say so, so I can see.
277 Apme=yä ya–wi natäp–som.

Later=after say–2s.DS hear–1d.DImp
Later say so that the two of us might hear.
278 Apme=yä ya–wi natäp–nom.

Later=after say–2s.DS hear–1p.DImp
Later say so that we all might hear.
Table 24 Immediate Imperative Mood

1 –pa ~ –wa ~ –ba –ta ~ –da –na
2 –Ø –kun ~ –xun ~ –bun –kut ~ –xut ~ –but
3 –pän ~ –wän ~ –bän
The IMMEDIATE IMPERATIVE MOOD suffixes are used in commands when an

immediate response is desired and in hortative expressions when immediate action is
intended.
Second person forms are used in commands (279, 280), requests (281), and
invitations (282).
279 Ep–Ø.
come.down–2s.Imm
Come down (NOW!)
280 Ep–bun.
come.down–23d.Imm
You two come down here (NOW!)
76
281 Masis=u na–m–Ø.

lighter=Top 1sO–give–2s.Imm
Give me a lighter.
282 Yagä=ka halut–Ø.

water=2s.Gen wash–2s.Imm
Wash yourself (lit., Wash your water).
First person and third forms are used in hortative sentences when expressing what
one intends to do (first person) and what one wants another to do (third person). Most of
these forms are the same as the DIFFERENT SUBJECT suffixes used in medial clauses (see
7.2.5) and are similar in form to the HYPOTHETICAL and PROBABLE suffixes. The
exceptions are the third person dual and plural forms, –kun and –kut, which, as in the
other subject-indexing suffix paradigms, are the same as the second person forms.
The first person forms are used for expressing what one intends to do alone (283)
or in co-hortatives (284).
283 Apu–ke=ngä t–emäng gägänu–wa.

come–SS.Pf=after 2sO–shoot set–1s.Imm
After I come back, I'll set it (the trap).
284 Ti–ke udan p–ä–ku p–e–na.

be–SS.Pf there pO–take–go pO–leave–1p.Imm
But let's take them and put them there (in school).
First person forms are also used in clause chains when telling someone to do
something that will be followed by an action performed by the speaker and perhaps
others. Second person is marked on a medial verb and first person IMMEDIATE is marked
on the final verb.
285 Mäte gin=u wuyä t–e–ke a–pä nax=u na–na.

all 2p=Top work sO–leave–SS.Pf come–23p.DS food=Top eat–1p.Imm
You all leave the work and come so we can eat.
The IMMEDIATE suffixes are not used for true interrogative statements, but like the
tense suffixes used in declarative statements, first person IMMEDIATE suffixes can be used
with rising intonation and sound like questions in expressions of indecision (286).
77
286 A=bä tang–u–wa bä a=bä t–e–ke

PFocus=Dub 3sO–hit–1s.Imm or PFocus=Dub sO–leave–SS.Pf
ku–ga–wa?
go–s.DIpf–1s.Imm
Should I kill it or should I leave it and go? (He said this to himself.)
The first person IMMEDIATE suffixes differ from the first person FUTURE TENSE in
that the IMMEDIATE suffixes indicate that the speaker intends to do something
immediately.
287 Puyä p–aha–wit.

work po–do–1s.Fut
I will work.
288 Puyä p–aha–wa.

work po–do–1s.Imm
I will work now.
The third person IMMEDIATE suffixes are used when expressing a desire for
another person or a thing to do something.
289 Yupsäng yä–ha–xut, tawik=nga=n

quickly 3pO–cook–23p.Imm clothing=1s.Gen=Dis
My clothes must dry quickly.
These third person forms are more frequently used in serial-verb constructions
and clause chains when telling someone to do something that will have a desired affect
on a third person referent. Second person is marked on a medial verb and third person
IMMEDIATE is marked on the final.
290 T–e–wi ku–wän.

sO–leave–2s.DS go–3s.Imm
Let him go (right now).
291 Yagä halu–ke p–aha–wi ku–xut.

water wash–SS.Pf pO–do–2s.DS go–23p.Imm
Wash and dry yourself. (lit., Wash water and do them so that the waters go.)
The third person IMMEDIATE suffixes are also used in serial-verb constructions
and clause chains when telling what one intends to do that will have a desired affect on a
third person referent. First person is marked on a medial verb and third person
IMMEDIATE is marked on the final.
78
292 Mut–na ku–wä t–ä–na taka–wän,

throw–1p.DS go–23p.DS sO–take–1p.DS improve–3s.Imm
yot=nin=un.
home=1p.Gen=Dis
Let's throw them away and fix up our village. (lit., Let's throw them so they go, and take
our village so it will improve.)
293 Ge t–ä–xa–wi yi–wa taka–xut.

so sO–take–SIpf–2s.DS stay–1s.DS improve–23p.Imm
(My hands are tired.) So you hold him so I can rest and they can improve.
Irrealis Suffixes
There are three other sets of subject-indexing suffixes that indicate various types
of irrealis modalities: APPREHENSION, HYPOTHETICAL, and PROBABLE. These are distinct
from the tense suffixes in that they are not strongly asserted, and they are different from
the imperative mood suffixes (see table 23) in that they are negated with do= 'negative'
rather than with ma= 'prohibitive'.
Table 25 Apprehension
1 –sät ~ –yät –häm ~ –säm –näm
2 –sä ~ –yä –hän ~ –sän –näng
3 –säk ~ –yäk
The APPREHENSION36 series of final-verb suffixes is used for apprehensional

epistemic modality—that is, for undesired or feared events. It has forms for first (294),
second (295, 296), and third person (297, 298). The singular suffixes have allomorphs
beginning with /s/ and /y/, and the dual suffixes have allomorphs beginning with /h/ and
/s/.
294 U t–aha–ke si–pi meyä p–ä–näm.

that sO–do–SS.Pf hit.3pO–2s.DS burden pO–take–1p.Appr
If you do that and hit them we might get into trouble (lit., get burdens).
295 Mu–ke tang–u–yä.

throw–SS.Pf 3sO–hit–2s.Appr
If you throw it you might hit him.
36
Davis glossed the Wantoat suffixes that indicate apprehension as 'phobic' (1964:166).
79
296 T–aha t–ä–ku t–e–nga–mi–näng.

sO–do sO–take–go sO–leave–1s0–give–23p.Appr
You all might take it and lose it on me.
297 Yot i–hi–yäk.

house 3sO–cook–3s.Appr
The house might burn down.
298 T–aha–wi apu yot=nin gwen=u do=akop–näng.

sO–do–2s.DS come home=1p.Gen Cl.lump=Top Neg=come.up–23p.Appr
If you do that, they might not come to our house.
Table 26 Hypothetical
1 –pam ~ –wäm ~ –bäm –tam ~ –dam –nam
2 –pim ~ –wim ~ –bim –pät ~ –wät ~ –bät –päm ~ –wäm ~ –bäm
The HYPOTHETICAL series of final-verb suffixes is used in the 'then' clause of

hypothetical or contrafactual conditionals. It has forms for first (299), second (300), and
third person (301).
299 Mängälä=tä a=ya–kin gämu=n a=l–äk–ako–pam

female=Abl PFocus=say–23p.Pst if=Dis PFocus=sO–take.up–1s.Hyp
If the girls had said, I would have brought it up.
300 A–natä–xä–t gämu a=layi–xä–wa ya–pim.

PFocus=know–SIpf–1s.Pr if PFocus=sing–SIpf–1s.DS write–2s.Hyp
If I knew it, I'd sing it and you would write it.
301 Ti–ke do=wäsi t–e–kut gämu nayi täknga=n,

be–SS.Pf Neg=loosen sO–leave–3s.Pst if leash Cl.rope=Dis
do=l–ä–pu tang–u–wän ku–pän.

Neg=sO–take–go.down 3sO–hit–3s.DS die–3s.Hyp
But if she had not loosened and removed its rope, it would not have fallen and died.
The protasis is followed by the conjunction gämu 'if'. When gämu follows a
final-verb suffix, the sentence is contrafactual. In other words, it expresses that, because
the protasis is not true, the following clause is also not true (302).
302 Sawin=u do=wuku–ning gämu Ukalämpä a=xu–wäm.

Sawin=Top Neg=go.down–23p.Fut if Ukarumpa PFocus=go–23p.Hyp
If you were not going down to Sawin, you would go to Ukarumpa.
When gämu follows a medial-verb suffix, the sentence has a hypothetical, rather
than contrafactual interpretation (303).
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303 A–na–ni–wi gämu a=xu–wam.

PFocus=1sO–tell–2s.DS if PFocus=go–1s.Hyp
If you were to tell me now, I could go.
Table 27 Probable
3 –pänak –pälak –päyak
~ –wänak ~ –wälak ~ –wäyak
~ –bänak ~ –bälak ~ –bäyak
The PROBABLE series of final-verb suffixes is used when reporting events that are
expected to be true. It only has forms for third person referents.
304 O wäyi ti–wän woksaw=une yi–wänak.

oh bad be–3s.DS workshop=Loc stay–3s.Prob
Oh, it's probably damaged and in the workshop.
305 Ako–pälak.
come.up–3d.Prob
The two of them are probably coming up now.
7.2.5 Medial-Verb Subject–Indexing Suffixes

Medial-verb switch-reference suffixes are used primarily in cosubordinate clauses
in clause chains. These suffixes indicate whether the clause in which they occur has the
same subject or a different subject from that of a following clause in the sentence. This
following clause is called the "reference clause" (see 4.4.2). In (306) alemäke has the
same subject as the reference verb nimikin. In (307) epuxawa has a different subject
from the reference verb yiwäxamäng.
306 Ti–wän pas=u a=l–emä–ke ni–mi–kin.

So they wrote a letter and gave it to us.
307 Hopä matekngä epu–xa–wä yiwä–xa–mäng.

rain small come.down–SIpf–23p.DS stay–SIpf–1p.Pr
It's drizzling (lit., Little rains are coming down) and we are here.
Medial verbs are not marked for absolute tense or modality. Rather, they depend
on the final verb for their tense and modality interpretation. In (306) and (307) above, the
medial verbs depend respectively on nimikin and yiwäxamäng for their past and present
tense and declarative mood interpretation.
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Same-Subject Suffixes
There are three medial-verb suffixes which both signify that the following clause
has the same subject, and indicate some sort of aspect: –ke 'same subject perfective'
('SS.Pf'), –hika 'same subject durative perfective' (SS.DurPf), and –xawik 'same subject
imperfective' ('SS.Ipf').
–Ke 'same subject perfective' indicates that the event is viewed as a whole.
Consequently, it is normally used when describing events in a sequence (308).
308 Kwalem=na p–ä–ke songä=xätan ku–kum.

bow=1s.Gen pO–take–SS.Pf forest=in go–1s.Pst
I took my bows and I went to the bush.
–Hika 'same subject durative perfective' portrays the action as going on for an
extended period of time before the next action (309).
309 … u=ne yiwi–hika t–e–ke atu maha ku–kum.

that=Loc stay–SS.DurPf sO–leave–SS.Pf level.far back go–1s.Pst
… and I stayed there for a while, and then I left him and went to the other side.
–Xawik 'same subject imperfective' portrays an event as incomplete at the time of

the action of the reference verb (310, 311).
310 … nä yiwä–xawik guyä=na=le tokngä hikngä natäp–bum.

1s stay–SS.Ipf father=1s.Gen=Dat angry real feel–1s.Pst
… and while I was waiting I felt very angry with my father.
311 Ku gomox=u gwäwayä do=xa–xawik ku–kum inälängän

go snake=Lnk snake Neg=see.3sO–SS.Ipf go–1s.Pst nearby
hikngä.
real
I went, and not seeing a gwäwäyä snake, I went very close to it.
The following sentences illustrate the temporal relationships between clauses by

the SAME SUBJECT suffixes.
312 Ku wuyä ipmä–ke kupä=na=le ti–kin.

go garden cut–SS.Pf tobacco=1s.Gen=Dat be–23p.Pst
I went and cut the garden and I needed a cigarette.
313 Ku wuyä ipmä–hika kupä=na=le ti–kin.

go garden cut–SS.DurPf tobacco=1s.Gen=Dat be–23p.Pst
I went and cut the garden for a while, and then I needed a cigarette.
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314 Ku wuyä ipmä–xawik kupä=na=le ti–kin.

go garden cut–SS.Ipf tobacco=1s.Gen=Dat be–23p.Pst
I went and while I was cutting the garden, I needed a cigarette.
As exemplified in (312–314), the SAME SUBJECT suffixes are also used when the
subject of the medial clause is the same as the topic of the reference clause, but the
reference clause is a construction requiring third person subject-indexing. In these
examples the subject of the medial clause and the topic of the reference clause are first
person singular as evidenced by the first person genitive marking following kupän
'tobacco', but the construction expressing need in the reference clause requires third
person subject-indexing.
Different-Subject Suffixes
The DIFFERENT SUBJECT (DS) medial-verb suffixes specify the person and number
of the subject of the current clause, as well as indicating that the clause containing the
reference verb has a different subject.
Table 28 Different–Subject Suffixes

1 –pa ~ –wa ~ –ba –ta ~ –da –na
2 –pi ~ –wi ~ –bi –pät ~ –wät ~ –bät –pä ~ –wä ~ –bä
When a verb is inflected with a DIFFERENT SUBJECT suffix and has no temporal or
aspect suffix (see 7.2.6–7), it has perfective aspect. The usual interpretation regarding the
order of events is the iconic order—the first mentioned precedes the latter.
315 Te–pa ep–but.

shoot–1s.DS come.down–3s.Pst
I shot it and it fell.
316 T–ä–ko "Uman=da imin?" ya–wän,

sO–take–go.up name=2s.Gen who say–3s.DS
"Uman=a Ngawingom," yang i–ni–kum.

name=1s.Gen Ngawingom Comp 3sO–tell–1s.Pst
Going inside he said, "What's your name?" and I told him "My name is Ngawingom."
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Unlike the SAME SUBJECT suffixes, the DIFFERENT SUBJECT suffixes do not exhibit
different forms for different aspects. Rather, additional suffixes indicating aspect may
precede the DIFFERENT SUBJECT suffixes. These are described in 7.2.6.
7.2.6 Aspect Suffixes

Verb suffix class 2 consists of three suffixes that express imperfective aspect.
They are –ga 'singular subject dynamic imperfective' (s.DIpf), –ka 'plural subject
dynamic imperfective' (p.DIpf), and –xät 'static imperfective' ('SIpf').

These aspect suffixes are normally followed by a subject-indexing suffix.37
However, they do not co-occur with the SAME SUBJECT medial-verb suffixes (7.2.5),
which already indicate aspect. Neither do they co-occur with the APPREHENSION or
PROBABLE irrealis suffixes.
As noted in 6.3, in final clauses, –ga and –ka are used only with DYNAMIC verbs,
while –xät is used only with STATIC verbs. In medial clauses, however, any of them can
be used with dynamic verbs. In the following sections I discuss how –ga and –ka are
used with dynamic verbs, then how –xät is used with static verbs, and finally how the
meanings of –ga and –ka differ from –xät when used in medial clauses.
–ga and –ka 'Dynamic Imperfective'
The suffixes –ga and –ka indicate imperfective aspect. These suffixes only occur
on dynamic verbs such as kung 'go' and nang 'eat', which make up the majority of Awara
verbs. They do not occur on static verbs (see 6.3). Clauses in which these suffixes appear
may refer to a habitual situation, an ongoing situation, or a situation which has just been
completed or which is just about to occur (depending on the tense and modality of the
following suffix or modal noun).
When these two suffixes occur in clauses having non-past temporal reference, the
distinction between them is one of number: –ga 'singular dynamic imperfective' is used
37
–Ka 'p.DIpf' is also used on non-finite verbs functioning as the complement of a modal noun. This is
illustrated below.
84
with singular subjects (317), and –ka 'plural dynamic imperfective' is used with dual and
plural subjects (318).
317 Apu–ga–t.
come–s.DIpf–1s.Pr
I am coming. / I have just now come.
318 Apu–ka–mäk
come–p.DIpf–1d.Pr
We two are coming. / We have just now come.
There are three exceptions to this number distinction.

1. –ka is used with the PAST TENSE regardless of whether the subject is singular
or plural (319).
319 … nax=u buläbam=u do=w–ä–ka–kut.

food=Lnk big=Top Neg=pO–take–p.DIpf–3s.Pst
… he (habitually) did not bring much food.
2. –ka is used in non-finite clauses (clauses lacking subject-indexing suffixes)

which function as the complement of a modal noun (see chapter 5). In the following
examples –ka is used on the non-finite verb preceding the modal nouns =nangäsä
'deontic' and =nage 'purpose'.
320 [A=w–aha–ka]=nangäsä nä=tä ap–a yiwä–xa–läk.

PFocus=pO–do–p.DIpf=Deontic 1s=Abl come–1s.DS stay–SIpf–2s.Pr
You could be working, but I came and you're (just there).
321 [Puyä p–aha–ka]=nage ya–k.

work pO–do–p.DIpf=purpose say–3s.Pr
He said (for me) to keep on working.
3. –ka is used with –pät '23d DS', –pä '23p DS' (322), –pät '23d Hypothetical'
(323), and –päm '23p Hypothetical' even though they are not singular.
322 Ti–wän=ä a=ya–ga–wä kwaka–kut.

be–3s.DS=after PFocus=say–s.DIpf–23p.DS light–3s.Pst
They were talking till morning.
323 Yäk=sä p–äk–epu–mäläk gämu a–yiwä–xawik

bag=2dp.Gen pO–take–come.down–23d.Pr if PFocus=stay–SS.Ipf
payi–ga–wät.
crochet–s.DIpf–23d.Hyp
If you two had brought your bags down, you could be here working on them.
85
Because the tense and modality of the subject suffix affects the interpretation of
the aspects shown by –ga and –ka, their interpretations when they co-occur with the
various subject suffixes will now be outlined.
The dynamic imperfective suffixes, –ga and –ka, are used with the PRESENT
TENSE suffixes for events that have just been happening (324), for action that is
happening now at this particular moment (325), and for current habitual actions (326).
324 Ti, lais, yang ha–wät na–ka–mäng.

tea rice Comp cook–23d.DS eat–p.DIpf–1p.Pr
The two of you have cooked tea and rice and we have just eaten it.
325 Ti–wän deyä yiwä–xät–na hopä matek matek

be–3s.DS but stay–SIpf–1p.DS rain small small
epu–ka–ying.
come.down–p.DIpf–23p.Pr
But we are here and it's drizzling.
326 Täpdux=u gwen=duyi=ne take=kän p–aha–ka–mäng.

time=Lnk Cl.lump=some=Loc good=only pO–do–p.DIpf–1p.Pr
Sometimes we work well.
They are used with the PAST TENSE suffixes for past habitual actions.
327 Tupä bapu=tä yagä däknga–ka–kin=u u=sing

before grampa=Abl water finish–p.DIpf–23p.Pst=Cond that=like
p–aha–ka–kin.
pO–do–p.DIpf–23p.Pst
Before, when the ancestors dammed water, they used to do it like this.
They are used with FUTURE TENSE, the IMMEDIATE IMPERATIVE MOOD, and the
DEFAULT IMPERATIVE suffixes to portray the start of the action.
328 Wasekngä nä=tä ku–ke a–pa ko–ka–nim.

last 1s=Abl go–SS.Pf come–1s.DS go.up–p.DIpf–1p.Fut
I'll go back and forth just once more and then we'll get going (back home).
329 Kung–gä–Ø.
Go–s.DIpf–2s.Imm
Get going now.
330 Nä–ka–kun.
eat–p.DIpf–2s.Imm
Start eating. (Go ahead and eat.)
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331 P–ä–ke yo–sä ku–ke wuyä u=sing

pO–take–SS.Pf village–2p.Gen go–SS.Pf work that=like
paha–ka–nong.
pO–do–p.DIpf–23p.DImp
When you go to your villages, start working like this.
The following examples illustrate –ga and –ka used with motion verbs and the
DEFAULT IMPERATIVE. (332), which lacks the imperfective suffix, portrays the action as a
whole and may imply that the addressee will return soon. With the imperfective suffix,
(333) normally implies that the addressee is going home or away for an extended period.
332 Dabung=kät Kipusi=xät ako–pät=nä ku–yo.

Dabung=with Kipusi=with come.up–23d.DS=after go–2s.DImp
When Dabung and Kipusi come up, then you can go.
333 Ku–ga–yo.
go–s.DIpf–2s.DImp
Go.
With the HYPOTHETICAL irrealis suffixes, –ga and –ka indicate immediacy. (334),
which does not contain the imperfective suffix, refers to what would have been done
previously if there had been no work. (335) refers to what would be done at the time of
speaking if there were no work.
334 Magämu a=xop–dam, puyä wenä gämu=n.

otherwise PFocus=go.up–1d.Hyp work not.exist if=Dis
Otherwise, we would have gone up, if I hadn't had work.
335 Puyä kayä. Magämu a=xo–ka–tam.

work exist otherwise PFocus=go.up–p.DIpf–1d.Hyp
I have work. Otherwise, we two would go up.
When –ka is used on a non-finite verb, it can imply immediacy (336) or

continuous aspect (337). These examples show non-finite clauses with –ka preceding the
modal noun =nangäsä 'deontic'.
336 Asä apu–ka=nangäsä. Ti–wän puku–ka=nangäsä.

like.this come–p.DIpf=Deontic be–3s.Ds go.down–p.DIpf=Deontic
They should have come by now. Then we could go down now. (complaining about
people coming late for a trip.)
87
337 Kupän wuyä–pa gwalam ti–wän wuyä–kä=nangäsä=kän

smoke blow–1s.DS nice be–3s.DS blow–p.DIpf=Deontic=only
ti–ka–ying.
be–p.DIpf–23p.Pr
I smoked tobacco and it was nice, and I just want to keep on smoking.
–xät 'Static Imperfective'
Imperfective aspect is also shown with –xät, which is followed by a final-verb

suffix only with static verbs. The static verbs are yiwit 'stay', dup 'see', natäp 'hear', wäm
'follow', and eng 'leave' (see 6.3). This suffix has the allomorph –xät before /d/ and /n/
(338), and –xa elsewhere (339).
338 Yiwä–xät–nong.
stay–SIpf–23p.DImp
You all stay.
339 Täpä=tuyi u=sing natä–xa–ying.

Cl.stick=some that=like think–SIpf–23p.Pr
Some think this.
Like the dynamic imperfectives, –ga and –ka, –xät is used with a PRESENT TENSE
suffix for events that have just now been happening (340), or are now occurring (341),
and for current habitual events (342).
340 Ge u=sing moyo u=sing ya–wa natä–xa–läk.

so that=like without that=like say–1s.DS hear–SIpf–2s.Pr
I have been telling you this for no reason, and you have been hearing it. (This was said at
the end of a story).
341 Ti–xa–wän nin=u a=ne yiwä–xa–mäng Giyame=xät.

be–SIpf–3s.DS 1p=Top this=Loc stay–SIpf–1p.Pr Giyame=with
So we are here, with Giyame.
342 Ko not=na täpä=tu u=ne yiwä–xa–k.

go.up friend=1s.Gen Cl.stick=one that=Loc stay–SIpf–3s.Pr
I went up, and a relative of mine lives there.
Similar to –ga and –ka, –xät is also used with a PAST TENSE suffix for past events
that happened over a period of time (343) and past habitual events (344).
343 Ge Fode yiwä–xa–kum.

so Thurday stay–SIpf–1s.Pst
So I continued to stay there Thursday.
88
344 … yang i–ni–wän kwätahik=äyä p–e–xa–kut.

Comp 3sO–tell–3s.DS trap.base=also pO–leave–SIpf–3s.Pst
and father would tell him " . . . " and the son would put the bases of the traps.
–xät is also used with the FUTURE (345), DEFAULT IMPERATIVE (346), and
IMMEDIATE IMPERATIVE MOOD (347) suffixes to indicate that the action is to occur over a
period of time.
345 … nä=xät a=ne yiwi–xa–sim=de …

1s=with this=Loc stay–SIpf–1d.Fut=Dat
… to stay here with me for a while, …
346 Ka–xa–yo. Ti–xa–wän ha–na ka–wiläk.

see.3sO–SIpf–2s.DImp be–SIpf–3s.DS cook–1p.DS see.3sO–2s.Fut
Keep watching. As you do, we'll cook and you'll see.
347 p–ä–ku yol=u atu=gwen=sim=une

pO–take–go house=Lnk level.far=Cl.lump=Spec=Loc
yiwä–xät–da.
stay–SIpf–1d.Imm
…we will go stay for a while at that house.
Distinction between the Dynamic and Static Imperfectives
Dynamic verbs can be followed by either –ga/ka 'dynamic imperfective' or –xät
'static imperfective' in medial clauses. For example, in the following sentences with the
verb kung 'go', the suffixes –ga and –ka indicate that the action continued on until its
endpoint (348, 349), while–xät only indicates that the event continued over a period of
time (350).
348 El=u Wadot ku–xa–wän p–aha t–ä–ke ku–ga–wa

Ed=Top Wantoat go–SIpf–3s.DS pO–do sO–take–SS.Pf go–s.DIpf–1s.DS
kupilä ti–kut.
dark be–3s.Pst
While Ed was going to Wantoat, I went on working and it got dark. (I finished the work).
349 El=u Wadot ku–xa–wän, p–aha t–ä–ke ku–ga–wa

Ed=Top Wantoat go–SIpf–3s.DS pO–do sO–take–SS.Pf go–s.DIpf–1s.DS
wulu–kut.
finish–3s.Pst
While Ed was going to Wantoat, I went on working and (the work) finished.
89
350 El=u Wadot ku–xa–wän p–aha t–ä–ke ku–xa–wa

Ed=Top Wantoat go–SIpf–3s.DS pO–do sO–take–SS.Pf go–SIpf–1s.DS
kupilä ti–kut.
dark be–3s.Pst
While Ed was going to Wantoat and I was going on working, it got dark. (I did not
finish the work).
There also seems to be a difference between –ga/ka 'dynamic imperfective' and

–xät 'static imperfective' in the relationship between the two verbs in a clause chain. The
dynamic imperfective suffixes can be used when the first event happened for a period of
time, and then subsequently the following event happened.
351 Ti–wän ya–wa ya–wa mali–ga–wän, "Udanä"

be–3s.DS say–1s.DS say–1s.DS fail–s.DIpf–3s.DS so.what
ya–ke t–e–kum.
say–SS.Pf sO–leave–1s.Pst
Well, I talked and talked and nothing was happening, so I thought, "Forget it" and left it.
352 Apu–ka–na nak=nin=de hikngä ti–kin.

come–p.DIpf–1p.DS food=1p.Gen=Dat real be–23p.Pst
We were coming and we got very hungry.
The static imperfective suffix, –xät, on the other hand, can be used when a
situation persists for a period of time and the action or situation of the following clause
takes place while the first situation is still true. In (353), while the father was digging, the
narrator and his father were there. The relationship between those two clauses is
overlapping because both verbs are imperfective. The final clause is perfective, so is
viewed as a whole; the raining is portrayed as occurring sometime while the father was
digging and the narrator was there with him.
353 Kwayi–xa–wän yiwi–xät–da hopä inälung bä buläbam hikngä

dig–SIpf–3s.DS stay–SIpf–1d.DS rain big or big real
apu ta–ni–mi–kut.
come rain–1p0–give–3s.Pst
While he was digging (a trap) and we were there, a rainstorm came and rained on us.
7.2.7 Temporal Suffixes

Verb suffix class 1 consists of three suffixes that express temporal notions:
–gämäta 'persistent', –hi 'durative', and –nage 'soon'. It appears that –gämäta can co-
90
occur quite freely with various aspect and subject-indexing suffixes, while –hi and –nage
are limited in their co-occurrence possibilities.
–gämäta 'Persistent'
The suffix –gämäta is used for persistent actions. Of the three temporal suffixes,
it has the fewest co-occurrence restrictions with other suffixes. It has been found with
most subject-indexing suffixes, but is infrequent in texts. When one speaker of the
language was asked whether it could be used with other suffixes, he was unsure. The
following are examples of it with the PRESENT (354), PAST (355), and FUTURE (356)
TENSE subject-indexing suffixes.
354 Na–ha–gämäta–ying.
1sO–cook/bite–Persist–23p.Pr
It (my back) keeps on hurting (me).
355 Matak ku–kumäng=u nax=u iwik=ge ha–xa–wä

Matak go–1p.Pst=Cond food=Top always=Dat cook–SIpf–23p.DS
na–gämäta–kumäng.
eat–Persist–1p.Pst
We went to Matak and they kept on cooking and we kept eating.
356 A–i–ni–gämätä–wik=ge ku–ga–k.

PFocus=3sO–tell–Persist–3s.Fut=Dat go–s.DIpf–3s.Pr
She is going in order to keep on scolding him.
The suffix –gämäta has also been found with the DEFAULT IMPERATIVE (357) and
APPREHENSION (358) final-verb suffixes.
357 Ma=wayi–gämäta–yo.
Prohib=crochet–Persist–2s.DImp
Don't keep making string bags.
358 Yäx=u iwik=ge payi–gämäta–yäk.

bag=Top always=Dat crochet–Persist–3s.Appr
(Don't give her string.) She'll keep making string bags all the time.
–gämäta is used with the DIFFERENT SUBJECT suffixes (359), and unlike the other
temporal suffixes, it is also used with SAME SUBJECT suffixes (360, 361).
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359 A=yä–ni–gämäta–wän engang=gä natä–pä mähe

PFocus–3pO–tell–repeat–3s.DS child=Abl feel–23p.DS unpleasant
ti–ning.
be–23p.Fut
He'll scold them and the children will hear and it will be unpleasant (to them).
360 kopi=nä=le ya–gämäta–ke puku–kin.

coffee=3.Gen=Dat say–Persist–SS.Pf go.down–23p.Pst
They kept thinking about their coffee, so they went down.
361 kopi=nä=le ya–gämätä–hika puku–kin.

coffee=3.Gen=Dat say–Persist–SS.DurPf go.down–23p.Pst
They kept thinking about their coffee, so they went down.
The suffix –gämäta may also be followed by any of the class 2 aspect suffixes.
The choice of aspect suffix following –gämäta seems to be along the same lines as that
described in 7.2.6, with the choice determined by the type of verb (dynamic or static), the
number of the subject, and the type of subject suffix. The sentences below illustrate
–gämäta with each of them: –ga (362), –ka (363), and –xät (364).
362 Yäx=u iwik=ge iwik=ge payi–gämätä–ga–k.

bag=Top always=Dat always=Dat crochet–Persist–s.DIpf–3s.Pr
She has kept on making string bags all day today.
363 Tupä yäx=u iwik=ge payi–gämäta–ka–kut.

before bag=Top always=Dat crochet–Persist–p.DIpf–3s.Pst
She used to always keep on making string bags.
364 A–pä bung=u ya–ke t–aha–ke

come–23p.DS group=Top say–SS.Pf sO–do–SS.Pf
ya–gämatä–xa–wä nä u=ne yiwi–kum.

say–Persist–SIpf–23p.DS 1s that=Loc stay–1s.Pst
They came, and they were talking in groups, and while they kept on talking, I was there.
–hi 'Durative'
The suffix –hi indicates that the situation happens (or is sustained) over an
appreciable length of time. It has been found in four different constructions: 1) with
either of the dynamic imperfective suffixes, –ga or –ka, and a DIFFERENT SUBJECT suffix
in clause chains, 2) in same-subject serial-verb constructions, 3) in evidential different-
subject serial-verb constructions, and 4) as an evidential marker in a final clause.
Examples are given below.
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The following sentences show -hi followed by a dynamic imperfective suffix

along with a DIFFERENT SUBJECT suffix.
365 Päkäp=de ko–hi–ga–wa däknga–kut.

steep=Dat go.up–Dur–s.DIpf–1s.DS break–3s.Pst
As I was going up steeply, it (my bag) broke.
366 A–na–hi–ga–wa=yä ako–ga–läk.

PFocus=eat–Dur–s.DIpf–1s.DS=after come.up–s.DIpf–2s.Pr
Just as I finished eating, you have come up.
367 O, a=na–hi–ka–na=yä apu–ga–läk.

Oh PFocus=eat–Dur–p.DIpf–1p.DS=after come–s.DIpf–2s.Pr
Just as we have finished eating, you have came up
The suffix –hi has also been found on an otherwise uninflected verb in a serial-
verb construction. So far only three instances of this have been observed, and in all of
them the second verb is kung 'go'. It appears that marking the action of the first verb as
durative makes explicit that the two actions make up one complex event, in which the
action marked with –hi was taking place over the period that the journey was going on.
This is the only temporal suffix found to occur in serial constructions.
368 ku mata–ke t–aha–hi ku–ka–ta pu–ke epu

go cut–SS.Pf sO–do–Dur go–p.DIpf–1d.DS break–SS.Pf come.down
nä=le bäläng=u yamätap–but.

1s=Dat foot=Top pierce–3s.Pst
We went and cut and were going along working, and it broke and came down and pierced
my leg.
369 Kwep ku–kut=nä kahit=de bulämda–hi ku–hika

±1.day go–3s.Pst=after road=Dat not.know–Dur go–SS.DurPf
apme=yä kahil=u ka–ke ku–kut.

later=after road=Top see.3sO–SS.Pf go–3s.Pst
After he left yesterday, he kept on going without knowing the road, and later he saw the
road and went on it.
This use of –hi in same-subject serial-verb constructions differs from –hika 'SS
durative perfective', which is used in clause chains to indicate that the first of two
separate events occurred over an appreciable length of time and the second occurs after it.
It also differs from –xawik 'SS imperfective', which is used in clause chains to indicate
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that the first of two separate events is incomplete at the time of the action of the reference
verb (see 7.2.5).
The suffix –hi is also used preceding a DIFFERENT SUBJECT suffix and the verb
kang 'see"3sO' in an evidential serial-verb construction which indicates that the event
mentioned is one that the speaker knows of because he heard it.
370 A–ya–hi–wä ka–t.

PFocus=say–Dur–23p.DS see.3sO–1s.Pr
I heard them talking. (They were talking and I saw.)
371 T–ä–pu tang–u–wän yango–hi–wän ka–ke …

sO–take–go.down 3sO–hit–3s.DS yell–Dur–3s.DS see.3sO–SS.Pf
He fell (lit., It took him down and hit him), and I heard him yelling …
This whole evidential construction can be shortened so that –hi is followed only
by a PRESENT TENSE suffix (372). Though the expression lacks the verb kang 'see"3sO' to
mean 'hear', this construction is only used when the speaker heard the action taking place
but did not see it.
372 Amin=u epu–hi–k.

person=Top come.down–Dur–3s.Pr
(I heard) someone coming down.
The only times that –hi is immediately followed by a subject-indexing suffix is in

these two evidential constructions; the one involving a DIFFERENT SUBJECT suffix, and the
other involving a PRESENT TENSE suffix. When –hi is used to describe duration, either it is
followed by an imperfective suffix along with a DIFFERENT SUBJECT suffix, or it is on a
verb lacking subject-indexing in a serial-verb construction.
–nage 'soon'
In the variety of Awara spoken in the central region, –nage 'soon' is a temporal
suffix that must be followed by a dynamic imperfective suffix (–ga or –ka) and a
PRESENT TENSE suffix to mark imminent future tense. It is not used with any other final-
verb suffixes or with medial-verb suffixes.
373 Yayi p–aha–ka–mäng=gäne ya–nage–ga–t.

yam pO–do–p.DIpf–1p.Pr=Poss say–soon–s.DIpf–1s.Pr
I am about to talk about (how) we do yams.
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374 O a=bä kum–nage–ga–läk?

oh PFocus=Dub die–soon–s.DIpf–2s.Pr
Oh, maybe you're about to die?
A verb with –nage even has –ga or –ka when used on static verbs such as natäp
'hear'. Normally, static verbs cannot take a dynamic imperfective suffix but –xät 'static
imperfective' instead (see 7.2.6). However, when a native speaker was asked about the
acceptability of this verb with –nage and –xät, he said that it was wrong.
375 Letio natäp–nage–ga–t.

radio hear–soon–s.DIpf–1s.Pr
I'm about to listen to the radio.
*Letio natäp–nage–xa–t.
Speakers from the central region say that the above structure has the same
meaning as clauses with the modal noun =nage 'purpose' followed by ting 'be'. However,
they say that they use –nage 'soon' when speakers from other regions would use the
modal construction with ting. The modal construction is described in 5.3.
8 SUBORDINATE–DEPENDENT CLAUSES
Subordinate-dependent clauses function as complements of verbs and modal
nouns (8.1) or as adverbial adjuncts (8.2).
8.1 Complement Clauses
Awara has two kinds of clausal complements. Non-finite clauses function as the
complement of modal nouns. For example, in (376) the clause headed by ahang 'do' lacks
a subject-indexing suffix and functions as the complement of the modal noun =nangän
'deontic'.
376 [Ap=da u=sing=u ma=l–aha]=nangän.

husband=2s.Gen that=like=Top Prohib=sO-do=Deontic
Don't do that to your husband. (lit., It is obligatory not to do like that to your husband.)
Finite clauses marked for tense may be followed by a postposition and function as
the complement of inflecting verbs. For example, in (377) the clause headed by
n–ut–ning '1sO–hit–23p future' is followed by the postposition =te 'dative' and functions
as the complement of natäp 'want'. In example (378) the clause chain ending in ku–kut
'go–3s past' is followed by the postposition =te 'dative' and functions as the complement
of ting 'be'.
377 … [a=n–ut–ning=ge hikngä] natäp–bin deyä

PFocus=1sO–hit–23p.Fut=Dat real want–23p.Pst but
and they wanted to really hit me but …
378 Ti–wän deyä [ama halak käpä yagä=tä a–l–ä–ke

be–3s.DS but down bridge Cl.stick water=Abl PFocus–sO–take–SS.Pf
ku–kut=de] ti–wän=u dasing=ga t–aha–nim?

go–3s.Pst=Dat be–3s.DS=Cond how=Indef sO–do–1p.Fut
But since the water carried the bridge away, what will we do?
Finite complement clauses come between the subject and the main verb. That is,
the structure of a clause with a complement clause is comparable to that of a simple
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96
transitive clause—SOV. In (379) nanamingä 'parent' is the subject of the main clause,
and the clause in brackets is the complement of the verb yawän.
379 … nanämingä=tä [puyä p–aha–himäläk=ge] ya–wän …

parent=Abl work pO–do-23d.Fut=Dat say-3s.DS
… when a parent said for them to do work (for the child to work with him) …
Other postpositions that follow finite complement clauses are täne 'possessor'
(380) and =yä 'after' (381).
380 [Puyä p–aha–ka–mäng=gäne] ya–wit.

garden pO–do–p.DIpf–1p.Pr=Poss say–1s.Fut
I will talk about how we make gardens.
381 Ge [yupsäng tang–u–wik=ngä] ka–wiläk.

so quickly 3sO–hit–3s.Fut=after see.3sO–2s.Fut
Then you will see that it will kill it fast.
Any kind of utterance (clause or phrase) may function as a direct quote

complement of quotative verbs, either with the yang 'complementizer', which is derived
from the verb yang 'say', or without it. Sentence (382) shows a quote consisting of a
clause, (383) shows a quote consisting of a clause chain, and (384) shows quotes
consisting simply of phrases.
382 Ti–ke "Tupäkäde=kän ku–wit," yang natä–ke=ngu …

be–SS.Pf completely=only go–1s.Fut Comp think–SS.Pf=Cond
But if you think "I'll just go all the way" …
383 "I=tä u=ne=bä yiwi–sim=de ya–wän ku–ka–mäk?"

3=Abl that=Loc=Dub stay–1d.Fut=Dat say–3s.DS go–p.DIpf–1d.Pr
natä–pa …
think–1s.DS
We went, and I thought "Is that where he said for us to stay and we are going there? (lit.,
Did he say for us to stay there and we are going?)" …
384 Ti–wän "Säne hikngä?" ya–wän=u, "Wadot," yang

be–3s.DS where real say–3s.DS=Cond Wantoat Comp
i–ni–kum.
3sO–tell–1s.Pst
And he said "Where really?" and I told him "Wantoat".
Other verbs that take clausal complements are yang 'say', ning 'tell', naxaläk
'fear', kang 'see"3sO', ahang 'do', and ting 'be'. The rest of this section discusses in more
detail the different types of complements used with these verbs.
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Yang 'say' co-occurs with the same kinds of clausal complements as natäp 'think':
clauses marked for tense followed by =te 'dative' (385), quotes followed by yang
'complementizer' (386), and unmarked quotes (387). In addition =täne 'possessor' can be
used to subordinate a clause marked for tense and indicate what is spoken about (388).
385 [U=sing ya–wit=de] ya–ga–k.

that=like say–1s.Fut=Dat say–s.DIpf–3s.Pr
She's saying for me to say it like that.
386 "Kep wäsi–wik gwe=ne=yä da–du–pit," yang

ground loosen–3s.Fut Cl.lump=Loc=after 2pO–see–1s.Fut Comp
u=sing ya–kut.
that=like say–3s.Pst
"At the end of the world, I will see you," she said.
387 "Yot t–aha–wän i–hi–k käpä adan?" ya–wän …

home sO–do–3s.DS 3sO–cook–3s.Pr Cl.stick here say–3s.DS
… and they went down and said "Is the one who burned the house here?" and …
388 [Puyä p–aha–ka–mäng=gäne] ya–wit.

garden pO–do–p.DIpf–1p.Pr=Poss say–1s.Fut
I will talk about how we make gardens.
Ning 'tell' can have a direct quote complement. The quote is always subordinated
by yang 'complementizer'.
389 T–ä–ko "Uman=da imin?" ya–wän, "Uma=na

sO–take–go.up name=2s.Gen who say–3s.DS name=1s.Gen
Ngawingom," yang i–ni–kum.

Ngawingom Comp 3sO–tell–1s.Pst
Going inside he said "What's your name?", and I told him, "My name is Ngawingom."
Naxaläk 'fear' can have as its complement a clause marked for FUTURE TENSE and
followed by =te 'dative' (390)
390 [Engang=u a=xu–pik=ge] a=naxaläk–ga–k.

child=Top PFocus=die–3s.Fut=Dat PFocus=fear–s.DIpf–3s.Pr
He is afraid that the child will die.
Kang 'see"3sO' can have a complement clause with a tense suffix followed by =yä
'after'.38
38
The reason I treat this as a complement clause and not as an adverbial clause is that in this construction,
only kang 'see.3sO' is used. The other allomorphs of this verb, which indicate other objects, are not used.
98
391 … amin=u täpä=tu bulip tängä=xätan tuku–hika

person=Top Cl.stick=one bush Cl.place=at wander–SS.DurPf
[wänäm=u gwen=du kuke p–e–kut=nä]

cassowary=Lnk Cl.gwen=one egg pO–leave–3s.Pst=after
ka–kut.
see.3sO–3s.Pst
a man wandered in the forest and saw that a cassowary had laid eggs.
Ahang 'do' can have as its complement a clause with a FUTURE TENSE suffix
followed by =te 'dative' (392). The object prefix on ahang is for a singular object.
392 Ti–wän [a=langu–wa ku–pik=ge] t–aha–wa

be–3s.DS PFocus=hit.3sO–1s.DS die–3s.Fut=Dat sO–do–1s.DS
däki=tä na–pmi–kut.
fire=Abl 1sO–pass–3s.Pst
I was trying to kill it, and the fire went past me. (lit., I was doing because I would kill it)
Ting 'be' can have as its complement a clause followed by =te 'dative' (393) or
=yä 'after' (394).
393 [Yä–mi t–ä–ke ku–kin=de] ti–wän=u wa Sade

3pO–give sO–take–SS.Pf go–23p.Pst=Dat be–3s.DS=Cond this Sunday
miting=u kayä yang u=sing ya–wä natäp–bumäng.

meeting=Top exist Comp that=like say–23p.DS hear–1p.Pst
Since they sent them (the letters), they said "This Sunday there will be a meeting," and
we heard.
394 O [a=wom=une tang–u–kin=ä] ti–ga–k.

oh this=Cl.place2=Loc 3sO–hit–23p.Pst=after be–s.DIpf–3s.Pr
Oh, they must have killed him in this place..
8.2 Adverbial Clauses
Adverbial clauses, like complement clauses, are subordinate-dependent clauses.

These clauses have a final-verb subject-indexing suffix and are subordinated by a
postposition such as =te 'dative' (395) or =ngu 'conditional' (396).
395 O belakngä t–aha–kum=de tang–u–k.

oh long sO–do–1s.Pst=Dat 3sO–hit–3s.Pr
Oh, because I made it long, it hit it.
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396 Ti–ke awä nanämingä=tä paha–ka–ying=u u=sing

be–SS.Pf and parent=Abl pO–do–p.DIpf–23p.Pr=Cond that=Adv
do=l–aha–ka–ying.
Neg=sO–do–p.DIpf–23p.Pr
But if the parents do it (arrange the marriage), they don't do that.
Postpositions that follow adverbial clauses are =une 'locative', kätan 'at', =tä
'ablative' (only after =une), =te Dative', and =using 'like' =yä 'after', and =ngu
'conditional'. Examples of each of these are given in the subsections below, which show
different types of adverbial clauses.
Adverbial clauses may come first in the sentence, be embedded in the clause they
modify, or be dislocated to the right of the clause. In (397) the adverbial clause comes
first in the sentence and precedes the subject of the following clause; in (398) it follows
the subject of the clause it modifies, and in (399) it is right dislocated. (The subjects are
underlined in (397) and (398).)
397 [P–aha–kumäläk=ngä] nil=u Matai=xät wawakdäkä=ne hikngä

pO–do–23d.Pst=after 1d=Top Matai=with child=Loc real
ku–kumäng.
go–1p.Pst
After they made it, when Matai and I (were)very (young) boys, we all went.
398 … Gayä u=läpä [mängät=nä moyo=kän ya–xa–wä

Gayä that=Cl.stick wife=3.Gen without=only talk–SIpf–23p.DS
ku–kut=de] mängät=nä=le natänatä ti–ke kwänäm=pät

go–3s.Pst=Dat wife=3.Gen=Dat worried be–SS.Pf tear=with
ti–kut.
cry–3s.Pst
… that Gaya was worried about his wife and cried because they talked and she went
without them. (Her family sent her alone to him in Wau.)
399 Ti–wän=ä nap täknga do=xa–kumäk, [wayä täknga=ne

be–3s.DS=after rope Cl.rope Neg=see.3sO–1d.Pst wire Cl.rope=Loc
wäha–kut=de=n].
grab–3s.Pst=Dat=Dis
We did not see a rope, because he had hung himself on a wire.
8.2.1 Temporal Clauses

Temporal clauses are followed by the postpositions =une 'locative', =kätan 'at', or
=yä 'after'.
100
The postpositions =une and =kätan indicate that the event following the
adverbial clause happens during the period referred to in the adverbial clause.
400 Tupä [nä wawakdäkä yiwi–kum=une] nä=tä u=sing

before 1s child stay–1s.Pst=Loc 1s=Abl that=like
t–aha–kum.
sO–do–1s.Pst
Before, when I was a boy, I did this.
401 Ge [yayi p–aha–ka–mäng=kätan=u] yayi p–aha–ke

so yam pO–do–p.DIpf–1p.Pr=at=Cond yam pO–do–SS.Pf
p–e–ke tälang p–äk–apu ma–ka–mäng.

pO–leave–SS.Pf pole pO–take–come shoot–p.DIpf–1p.Pr
So when we do yams, we do yams and leave them and get poles and shoot them into the
ground.
When =yä39 'after' follows adverbial clauses, it indicates that the event following
the adverbial clause happens after the event referred to in the adverbial clause. In (403)
the clause chain ending in the final verb ap–but 'come–3s past' is followed by the
postposition =yä 'after' and functions as an adverbial clause chain.
402 [U=sing ku–kut=nä] do=apu–ga–k.

that=like go–3s.Pst=after Neg=come–s.DIpf–3s.Pr
After he went like that he is not coming back (has not come back).
403 [T–e–ke ap–but=nä] "Yewän=ä tayi–nim,"

sO–leave–SS.Pf come–3s.Pst=after ±2.day=after sing–1p.Fut
ya–wä=yä a=yiwä–xa–wän ku yewän

say–23p.DS=after PFocus=stay–SIpf–3s.DS go ±2.day
u=gwen=e kwaka–wän=ä a=xu–kut.

that=Cl.lump=Loc light–3s.DS=after PFocus=go–3s.Pst
After he left it and came, they said, "The day after tomorrow we will dance" and he
stayed there until that 'day after tomorrow' and after it got light, he went.
8.2.2 Locative Clauses

Locative adverbial clauses are followed by =une 'locative' (404) or =kätan 'at'
(405).
39
=Yä 'after' has four allomorphs: =yä after vowels, =ngä after velars, =ä after /n/, and =nä after most
consonants. The allomorph =ngä also occurs after the verb suffixes –ke 'SS"perfective' and –hika
'SS"durative perfective', and after motion verb stems.
101
404 Ti–wän p–ä–ke p–ä–ku [a=yiwi–xa–ying=une]

be–3s.DS pO–take-SS.Pf pO–take–go PFocus=stay-SIpf-23p.Pr=Loc
p–e–kumäng hangä täpä=n.

pO–leave–1p.Pst thing Cl.stick=Dis
We took the things and went and put them where they stay (where they belong).
405 "Amin=u ama=sing t–aha–ka–ying" ya–ke

person=Top down=like sO–do–p.DIpf–23p.Pr say–SS.Pf
[a=yiwi–t=ätan] apu na–ha–yäk.

PFocus=stay–1s.Pr=at come 1sO–bite–3s.Appr
It might think "People down below are doing it," and come to where I am and bite me.
Locative adverbial clauses followed by =une can in turn be followed by =tä
'ablative' to mean 'from'.
406 Gwen=du=ne [Wau Ikoloji Institut p–aha–kum=une=tä]

Cl.lump=one=Loc Wau Ecology Institute pO–do–1s.Pst=Loc=Abl
bos=na=xät Kapum ku–him=de kal t–ä–ke

boss=1s.Gen=with Kabum go–1d.Fut=Dat car sO–take–SS.Pf
ep–bumäk.
come.down–1d.Pst
One day from where I worked at Wau Ecology Institute, my boss and I took a car and
came down to go to Kabum.
8.2.3 Manner Clauses
Manner clauses are followed by the postposition =using 'like'.
407 [A=ya–l=using] temä–ga–läk.

PFocus=say–1s.Pr=like write–s.DIpf–2s.Pr
You're writing just the way I said it.
408 Ge t–aha–ka–kut=nä ku=ngu [hiyäkän=de

so sO–do–p.DIpf–3s.Pst=after go=Cond truth=Dat
a–ya–ka–kul=using] goläng=ä=ne
PFocus=say–p.DIpf–3s.Pst=like hip=3.Gen=Loc
tang–u–ka–kut=nä ka–ke=ngu …
3sO–hit–p.DIpf–3s.Pst=after see.3sO–SS.Pf=Cond
So after he would make it, he would go and if he saw that, [just as he said], it hit it in its
waist, …
8.2.4 Reason and Purpose Clauses

Reason and purpose clauses express motive. The motive may be realis and
marked by PAST TENSE (409) or PRESENT TENSE (410), in which case it expresses a reason.
102
Or the motive may be irrealis and marked with the FUTURE TENSE, in which case it
expresses a purpose (411).
409 O [belakngä t–aha–kum=de] tang–u–k.

oh long sO–do–1s.Pst=Dat 3sO–hit–3s.Pr
Oh, because I made it long, it hit it.
410 … ya–na a=bulämda–kin, [do=natä–xa–ying=ge=n].

say–1p.DS PFocus=not.know–23p.Pst Neg=hear–SIpf–23p.Pr=Dat=Dis
… we said, and they did not understand, because they had not heard of it.
411 … not=na=xät [täbäk bungep p–aha–nim=de] ku–kumäng.

friend=1s.Gen=with rat trap pO–do–1p.Fut=Dat go–1p.Pst
… my friends and I went to make rat traps. (lit., because we would make traps.)
8.2.5 Conditional Clauses
Awara uses the postposition =ngu/=u 'conditional' to mark certain kinds of

conditional clauses. When the clause is marked for PAST or PRESENT TENSE, it describes
either an actual condition about a specific time (412) or a condition about a habitual
practice (413), (414).
412 … [okupi yiwi–kumäng=u], naxalä yangok–gämäta–kut.

inside stay–1p.Pst=Cond much yell–Persist–3s.Pst
… and we were inside, and she kept screaming.
413 Tupä bapu=tä [däki däkä yot t–aha=nage

before grandpa=Abl tree Cl.thick house sO–do=purpose
mata–ka–kin=u] gayät=dä mata–ka–kin.

cut–p.DIpf–23p.Pst=Cond axe.trad=Abl cut–p.DIpf–23p.Pst
Before, when the ancestors would cut wood in order to build a house, they would cut it
with a traditional axe.
414 Ti–ke awä apma=sim=u [nin=dä mata–ka–mäng=u] sadun=dä

be–SS.Pf and now=Dim=Top 1p=Abl cut–p.DIpf–1p.Pr=Cond axe=Abl
mata–ka–mäng.
cut–p.DIpf–1p.Pr
But now when we cut, we cut with an axe.
When the clause is marked for FUTURE TENSE, it describes a potential condition.
415 [P–aha–wä u=ne p–e–ke na–nim=u] iwal=u

pO–do–23p.DS that=Loc pO–leave–SS.Pf eat–1p.Fut=Cond sick=Top
a=l–ä–nim.
PFocus=sO–take–1p.Fut
If they do it (walk around in the dirt) and put them there and we eat it, we will get sick.
9 COSUBORDINATE CLAUSES FOLLOWED BY POSTPOSITIONS
Unlike clauses with final-verb subject-indexing suffixes, clauses with medial-verb
suffixes cannot be followed by most postpositions. However, they can be followed by
=yä 'after' and =ngu 'conditional'. =Yä indicates that the time of the event marked with
=yä precedes that of the event in the reference clause (416).
416 [I–ni–wa=yä] guyä–na=tä na–ni–kut.

3sO–tell–1s.DS=after father–1s.Gen=Abl 1sO–tell–3s.Pst
After I told him, my father told me.
=Ngu indicates that the clause is conditional. The final-verb subject-indexing on

the independent clause affects the interpretation of the conditional clause. For example,
when the final clause is marked for PAST TENSE, the conditional clause describes an actual
condition.
417 Ge [gwen=du=ne ya–wän=u] "Nä mähe," yang

so Cl.lump=one=Loc say–3s.DS=Cond 1s unpleasant Comp
i–ni–kum.
3sO–tell–1s.Pst
So one day he spoke, and I told him "I don't want to. (lit., To me it is unpleasant)".
When the final clause has an imperfective suffix, such as –ka 'plural subject
dynamic imperfective', and PRESENT TENSE, the conditional clause sets the condition for a
habitual action and describes a condition that sometimes occurs (418) or that has the
potential to occur (419).
418 [Amin kungwä–ke=ngu] u=sing t–aha–ka–mäng.

person die–SS.Pf=Cond that=like sO–do–p.DIpf–1p.Pr
When someone dies, this is what we do.
419 Ti–ke [tokngä do=natä–ke=ngu] do=ya–ka–ying.

be–SS.Pf angry Neg=feel–SS.Pf=Cond Neg=say–p.DIpf–23p.Pr
But if they don't feel angry, they don't say it.
This difference in interpretation of the conditional based on tense is similar to that

found with conditional subordinate-dependent clauses (see 8.2.5).
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104
When clauses with final-verb subject-indexing are followed by a postposition

such as =te 'dative' or =une 'locative', they are subordinated to the following clause, and
are not part of the switch-reference system that their superordinate clause is a part of. In
both sentences below, the clause preceding the subordinate clause has a SAME SUBJECT
suffix, and its referent is, not the subordinate clause, but the following clause. (Example
(96) is repeated here as 420.)
420 Epu–xu–ke [amin=dä yiwi–kumäng=une] ap–but.

come.down–go–SS.Pf person=Abl stay–1p.Pst=Loc come–3s.Pst
It came out and came to where we people were..
421 T–ä–pän täkwäm–bän mängälä u=läpä "Wäyi=bä

sO–take–3s.DS turn–3s.DS female that=Cl.stick bad=Dub
ti–ga–k" ya–ke [okupi yiwi–kumäng=u],

be–s.DIpf–3s.Pr say-SS.Pf inside stay–1p.Pst=Cond
naxalä yangok–gämäta–kut.
much yell–Persist–3s.Pst
It was turning and the woman thought "Maybe it's damaged" and we were inside, and
she kept screaming.
Clauses with medial-verb suffixes followed by postpositions, on the other hand,

are included in the switch-reference system. In (422), for example kwaka–wän
'light–3s"DS' is followed by the postposition =yä 'after'. The clause preceding it,
ayiwäxawa has the same subject as the final clause akot. Though kwakawän is followed
by a postposition, ayiwäxawa is marked different-subject in reference to kwakawän.
The switch-reference marking on ayiwäxawa does not skip over the medial clause
followed by =yä 'after'.
422 Tiwän deyä a=yiwä–xa–wa kwaka–wän=ä kepmä

be–3s.DS but PFocus=stay–SIpf–1s.DS light–3s.DS=after noon
hikngä ako–t a=ne=n.

real come.up–1s.Pr this=Loc=Dis
But I was there and it got light, and I came here at noon.
This seems to indicate that, though they are morphologically dependent on the
following clause in the chain, cosubordinate clauses followed by postpositions are not
syntactically subordinated to it, at least not in the sense that subordinate-dependent
clauses are.
10 NEGATION
Negation may be indicated by the clitic do 'negative' or ma= 'prohibitive'. Do is
used with most sentence types while ma= is used with imperatives, third person
hortatives and the non-finite clausal complement of the modal noun =nangän 'deontic'.
Do= and ma= precede inflecting verbs, and =do follows non-verbal predicates, including
modal nouns.
10.1 Scope of Negation
Do and ma= are similar in that neither negates preceding clauses, whether the
preceding clause is subordinated by a postposition (423) or is a medial clause (424, 425).
423 U=sing ku–kut=nä do=apu–ga–k.

that=like go–3s.Pst=after Neg=come–s.DIpf–3s.Pr
He went like that and since then he has not come back.
424 … epu–xu–wa do=n–u–kin.

come.down–go–1s.DS Neg=1sO–hit–23p.Pst
… I went out and they didn't hit me.
425 A–pän=u wäyi ma=l–aha=nangän.

come–3s.DS=Cond bad Prohib=sO–do=Deontic
If he comes, don't do wrong.
In addition, do and ma= do not negate preceding motion verb stems (426, 427).
426 … ku do=lang–u–kut=nä ka–ke …

go Neg=3sO–hit–3s.Pst=after see.3sO–SS.Pf
… and I went and saw that it did not kill anything, …
427 Ku=ngu belakngä ma=w–ä–yo.

go=Cond long Prohib=pO–take-2s.DIpf
When you go, don't get long ones.
However, do and ma= differ in that ma= negates all the clauses in the sentence
following it, while do normally negates only the clause in which it appears. Though
negation is not marked on each verb, all the clauses between ma= and the imperative
mood subject-indexing suffix are understood to be negated. Clauses preceding the final
105
106
verb may have a suffix indicating same-subject (428), different-subject (429), or tense
(430).
428 Ma=i–ni–ke tang–u–yo.

Prohib=3sO–tell–SS.Pf 3sO–hit–2s.DImp
Don't scold and (don't) hit him.
429 Kem amin=u ma=ya–wi ye=yok.

lie person=Top Prohib=say–2s.DS say–3s.DImp
Don't ask a liar.
430 Ma=w–ä–ko pe–wiläk=ngä ap–so.

Prohib=pO–take–go.up sleep–2s.Fut=after come–2s.DImp
Don't go sleep and then come back (tomorrow).
Do, in contrast, does not normally negate clauses to the right of a clause break.
Clause breaks can occur after a suffix indicating same-subject (431), different-subject
(432), or tense (426 repeated).
431 Ku [gomox=u gwäwayä do=xa–xawik] ku–kum inälängän

go snake=Lnk snake Neg=see.3sO–SS.Ipf go–1s.Pst next
hikngä.
real
I went and, not seeing a gwäwäyä snake, I went very close to it.
432 … tukwat=de [hopä do=la–wän] ap–än

afternoon=Dat rain Neg=rain–3s.DS come–3s.DS
ka–ke=ngä puku–nim.
see.3sO–SS.Pf=after go.down–1p.Fut
… after it doesn't rain in the afternoon and we see her come, we will go down.
426 … ku [do=lang–u–kut=nä] ka–ke …

go Neg=3sO–hit–3s.Pst=after see.3sO–SS.Pf
… and I went and saw that it had not killed anything, …
In order for a clause following a clause break to be negated, it also has do

'negative'.
433 Ene–tängä ko–ke=ngu [yumde=kän=u do=yaying

above=Cl.place go.up–SS.Pf=Cond freely=only=Top Neg=step
yiwi–ke] [hongähongä do=li–ke] mata–ka–kin.

stay–SS.Pf fruitless Neg=be–SS.Pf cut–p.DIpf–23p.Pst
When they went up they did not just stand anywhere and cut wildly. (But they taught
them how to stand and cut.)
107
In the following example do= does appear to have scope over the clause
following –ke 'same subject perfective'. This is as yet unexplained.
434 Buk=nga hopi–kul=u do=xa–ke t–ä–t.

book=1s.Gen hide–3s.Pst=Top Neg=see.3sO–SS.Pf sO–take–1s.Pr
I have not found and taken my book that was lost.
Do does negate more than one verb when those verbs are part of a serial-verb
construction and belong to the same clause. When the first verb in a serial-verb
construction is preceded by do=, the rest of the verbs in that construction are negated
even though they are not individually marked. In (435), do= precedes the verb stem yang
'say', and negates the whole phrase.
435 Wam ya–xa–wäl=u do=yang umu–bit.

word say–SIpf–23d.DS=Cond Neg=say block–1s.Fut
Since you two are talking (lit., saying words), I won't talk and disturb you.
This is also true of serial-verb constructions that involve switch-reference

marking. When do= precedes a different-subject serial-verb construction (436), all the
verbs in the serial construction are understood to be negated even though only the first
verb is preceded by do=.
436 Do=wayi–wa wulu–kut. A=yiwä–xa–k.

Neg=crochet–1s.DS finish–3s.Pst PFocus=stay–SIpf–3s.Pr
I did not finish making the string bag. It's still there.
10.2 Negation with Modal Nouns
There are two scopes of negation involving clauses headed by modal nouns. In
one, the clause headed by the modal noun is negated by =do following the noun (437). In
the other, the non-finite clause functioning as a complement to the modal noun is negated
by do= or ma= preceding the verb stem (438).
437 [Gä=tä t–ä=nangäsä]=do; hangä buläbam.

2s=Abl sO–take=Deontic=Neg thing big
You can't hold it; it's a big thing. (lit., It's not possible for you to hold it.)
438 [Do=w–aha–ka]=nangasä p–aha–ga–läk.

Neg=pO–do–p.DIpf=Deontic pO–do–s.DIpf–2s.Pr
You don't have to do it (lit., it is possible/permissible not to do it), but you are doing it.
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The negators and the implications of negation with the modal nouns =nangäsä
'deontic', =nangän 'deontic', and =nage 'purpose' are shown below.
Both =nangäsä 'deontic' and its clausal complement may be negated by do
'negative'. Do negating =nangäsä indicates that the action is not possible. This is shown
in (437) above. Do= negating the clausal complement of =nangäsä indicates that
something is unnecessary (438) above (i.e. it was possible not to be done), and may imply
that it should not have been done (439).
439 [uma=na do=ya]=nangäsä teyä ya–ga–k.

name=1s.Gen Neg=say=Deontic but say–s.DIpf–3s.Pr
She doesn't have to say my name, yet she does.
The clausal complement of =nangän 'deontic' is negated by ma= 'prohibitive'

preceding the verb stem.
440 [Mängät=da u=sing ma=lang–ut]=nangän.

wife=2s.Gen that=like Prohib=3sO–hit=Deontic
You shouldn't hit your wife like that.
Both =nage 'purpose' and its clausal complement may be negated by do. =Do
negating =nage indicates that something is not intended for the purpose stated.
441 [A=ha=nage]=do.
PFocus=cook=purpose=Neg
It is not for cooking.
442 [A=l–ä=nage]=do. A=yiwi–k=ge.

PFocus=sO–take=purpose=Neg PFocus=stay–3s.Pr=Dat
It is not for taking. It's to stay there.
Do= negating the clausal complement of =nage indicates that something ought
not to be done (443, 444). The pragmatic distinction between the negation of =nage and
the negation of its complement is not well understood.
443 [Do=hikngä p–ä]=nage.

Neg=really pO–take=purpose
They really must not be taken.
444 [Do=l–ä]=nage, u=läpä=n. U=ne u=sing

Neg=sO–take=purpose that=Cl.stick=Dis that=Loc that=like
t–eng–Ø.
sO–leave–2s.Imm
It's not to be taken. Leave it there like that.
11 SERIAL-VERB CONSTRUCTIONS
Awara serial-verb constructions consist of tight juxtapositions of two or more
verbs, or two or more verb phrases, that make up a single clause. When the verbs share a
subject, only the last verb in the construction is normally inflected for the subject (445),
but when the serialized clauses exhibit differing subjects, then, DIFFERENT SUBJECT
medial-verb suffixes are used are used on the initial verbs in the construction, and the last
verb in the construction is also inflected for subject (446).
445 Amin=dä ap–ä kätak daying yiwi–ke towi–yo.

person=Abl come–23p.DS exactly see.3pO stay–SS.Pf care–2s.DImp
When people come, look after them well and care for them
446 a=l–ä–pän taka–k.

PFocus=sO–take–3s.DS improve–3s.Pr
He fixed it. (lit., He took it, and it improved.)
Crowley (1987:38–40, 49) describes four types of serial constructions based on

the relationship between the arguments of each verb: 1) same-subject serialisation "in
which there is identity between the two subjects of the serialised verbs", 2) switch-subject
serial verbs or serial causative verbs "in which there is identity … between the object of
the first verb and the subject of the following verb", 3) multiple object serialisation in
which each of the serialized verbs is transitive and has its own object, and 4) ambient
serialisation "in which there is no specific referent associated with the subject of the
serialised verb, and the verb simply describes a general predication"
In Awara there are same-subject, switch-subject, and ambient serializations.
However, multiple object serialization has not been found.
Serial-verb constructions have different functions. In Awara there are
constructions describing multiple phases of complex events, constructions indicating
direction, constructions indicating aspect, ambient serializations, and constructions
involving a preceding motion verb. After two subsections comparing serial-verb
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110
constructions with clause chains and compound verbs, the rest of this chapter is organized
according to these functions.
11.1 Distinguishing Serial-Verb Constructions from Clause Chains

Awara serial-verb constructions differ from clause chains (multiple medial
clauses conjoined in a sentence that terminates with a final clause—see 4.4.2) in that 1)
they refer to a single event; 2) there are tight restrictions on their arguments and on where
the phrasal constituents may occur; and 3) they obligatorily share mood and usually also
polarity.40 These differences are exemplified below contrasting different-subject serial-
verb constructions with clause chains involving different subjects.
Different-subject serial-verb constructions differ from clause chains in that serial
constructions refer to a single event which indicates a causal relationship (447), while
clause chains refer to multiple events and indicate purely temporal relationships (448). In
addition, serial-verb constructions are typically pronounced under a single intonational
contour with no pauses between the verbs, while clause chains often have a phonological
pause between the clauses.
447 Däki a=bä–lang–ut–na ku–pik?

wood PFocus=Dub=3sO–hit–1p.DS die–3s.Fut
Maybe we'll kill the fire (lit., Maybe we'll hit the fire and it will die.)
448 Ya–wa t–e–wän, "Yot=da säne nanä?" ya–wän,

say–1s.DS sO–leave–3s.DS village=2s.Gen where from say–3s.DS
"Täwayä nanä," yang i–ni–kum.

Tawaya from Comp 3sO–tell–1s.Pst
I said, and he wrote it (lit., left it) and said, "Where is your village?" and I told him
"Tawaya."
These serial-verb constructions also differ from clause chains in which there is a
change of subject in that serial-verb constructions share an argument (449) while verbs in
clause chains can each have their own arguments (450). In the serial-verb construction in
(449), Yäkutung is the object of iniwän 'tell' and the subject of apuk 'come'. In the
40
There is an exception to the restriction on polarity. In constructions involving a motion verb stem
followed by a verb phrase, the verb phrase can be negated. This negation does not affect the motion verb.
This is described in 11.7.2.
111
clause chain in (450), Yäkutung is only the subject of apuk; the object of iniwän is
marked on the verb but has no overt NP. In addition, in a serial-verb construction, the
shared argument (if an overt NP) precedes the serial construction; it cannot come
between serialized verbs. If an argument comes between the two verbs, it is understood
not to be shared (450), and thus this is not a serial-verb construction.
449 Koni=tä Yäkutung i–ni–wän apu–k.

Koni=Abl Yakutung 3sO–tell–3s.DS come–3s.Pr
Koni told Yakutung and he (Yakutung) came.
*Konitä iniwän Yäkutunggä apuk.
450 Koni=tä i–ni–xa–wän Yäkutung=gä apu–k.

Koni=Abl 3sO–tell–SIpf–3s.DS Yakutung=Abl come–3s.Pr
Koni was speaking to him (someone else) and Yakutung came.
Different-subject serial-verb constructions also differ from clause chains in that

they obligatorily share polarity. As noted in 10.1, negation affects all the verbs in the
serial construction, whereas it is blocked at clause breaks. That is, if one verb in a serial-
verb construction is negated, all the verbs in that construction have negative polarity. In
(451) do= 'negative' on the first verb negates the whole clause, so all three verbs in the
serial-verb construction have negative polarity. However, in the clause chain in (452),
when the first clause is negated by do=, it does not cause the verb in the following clause
to have negative polarity.
451 yot=nin do=xwalamu t–ä–na taka–wix=u41 …

village=1p.Gen Neg=clean sO–take–1p.DS improve–3s.Fut=Cond
if we don't clean up our village …
452 … tukwatde hopä do=la–wän a–pän ka–ke=ngä

afternoon rain Neg=rain–3s.DS come–3s.DS see.3sO–SS.Pf=after
puku–nim.
go.down–1p.Fut
… in the afternoon if it doesn't rain, when she comes and we see (her come), we will go
down.
41
The serial-verb construction kwalamu täna takang includes three verbs. Täna takang is a different-
subject serial causative construction commonly used for 'fix'. The verb kwalamu 'clean' has the same
subject as äng 'take', so it lacks a subject-indexing suffix. Kwalamu indicates the manner in which the
village is fixed up. Different-subject and same-subject serial-verb constructions are described in 11.3.
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Furthermore, only the first verb in a serial-verb construction can be preceded by a

clitic such as a= 'predicate focus', do= 'negative', or ma= 'prohibitive'. These clitics do
not precede non-initial verbs in a serial-verb construction.
453 Et=dä yol=u do=l–ä–pän taka–k.

Ed=Abl house=Top Neg=sO–take–3s.DS improve–3s.Pr
Ed did not fix the house.
*Etdä yolu täpän do=lakak.
Serial-verb constructions obligatorily share mood while clause chains do not

necessarily do so. For example, imperative mood is shared by both verbs in the same-
subject serial-verb construction in (454), and by both verbs in the different-subject serial-
verb construction in (455).
454 Ti–ke ma=na–pma ku–hon.

be–SS.Pf Prohib=1sO–leave go–23d.DImp
And don't leave me and go.
455 Ku ya–wät ap–sok.

go say–23d.DS come–3s.DImp
Go tell him to come.
However, in the clause chain in (456), the medial clauses in the first line have
conditional mood and the final one in that line is marked with =ngu 'conditional', the
medial clauses in the second and third lines have indicative mood, and the final clause
has interrogative mood.
456 O a=yiwi–hika a=xu–pän ka–ke=ngu …

oh PFocus=stay–SS.DurPf PFocus=die–3s.DS see.3sO–SS.Pf=Cond
If we stay and see him die,
kekngä täpä=ne wamä–ke gwälami–ke

bamboo Cl.stick=Loc tie–SS.Pf carry–SS.Pf
we'll tie him on a bamboo pole and carry him on our shoulder
t–ä–ko yol=une te–ke

sO–take–go.up village=Loc leave.sO–SS.Pf
and take him up and leave him in the village
nil=u sa=längä=ka data–ku–him?

1d=Top which=Cl.place=Indef flee–go–1d.Fut
and which way will we flee?"
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11.2 Serial-Verb Constructions and Compound Verbs
In addition to serial-verb constructions consisting of a sequence of verb stems,

Awara also has verb-verb compounds. These are discussed in 7.1.1. The purpose of this
section is simply to establish that Awara has both serial-verb constructions and
compound verbs. Though most verb-verb sequences could be analyzed as either, 42 there
are a few verbs that show a clear distinction in their morphology depending on whether
they are part of a compound or serial construction. These are described below.
Kung 'go' and pukung 'go down' are two such verbs. For example, kung has the
form ku in serial-verb constructions (457, 458) and kung when it is the first root in the
compound kung–apung 'go–come' (459). This is not a phonological alternation, since the
form ku can precede both consonants (457) and vowels (458).
457 Ku hopi–wik.
go hide–3s.Fut
He will go hide.
458 Bulip tängä ku–hika ku amu yagä täpä=ne ku

bush Cl.place go–SS.DurPf go down.far water Cl.stick=Loc go
do–ke=ngä …
arrive–SS.Pf=after
We were walking in the forest, and we went and down below we went up to a river …
459 Kayi=ka a=xung–a–pä t–ä–pu g–u–wik

eye=2s.Gen PFocus=go–come–23p.DS sO–take–go.down 2sO–hit–3s.Fut
kep gwäkäm=une=n.
ground Cl.chunk=Loc=Dis
Your eyes will go round in circles (go and come), and you will fall down (it will take you
down and hit you) on the ground.
Kung–apung also illustrates the occasional semantic opaqueness of compounds

described in chapter 7 in that it does not simply mean 'go and [then] come back', but 'go
back and forth' or 'go round in circles'.
Pukung 'go down' has the form puku when it is the only verb root in the stem
(460, 461) and pu when it is the second root in a compound verb stem (462). These forms
42
Further research on the morphophonemic processes involved is needed to determine whether or not there
is a word break between these verb stems.
114
otherwise occur in the same context, in that they are both followed by another verb in a
serial-verb construction (461, 462).
460 Puku–ga–yo.
go.down–s.DIpf–2s.DImp
Go down. (Used in leave takings.)
461 Puku ko–ga–yo.

go.down go.up–s.DIpf–2s.DImp
Go down and go up. (A leave taking for someone who will go down one mountain and up
another.)
462 T–ä–pu na–pma–bän u=ne pe–wit.

sO–take–go.down 1sO–leave–3s.DS that=Loc sleep–1s.Fut
It would take me down and leave me and I would sleep there.
Evidence that puku and ä–pu 'take–go down' are not necessarily compounded to
the verb following it is that the verb stem can be immediately followed by a noun phrase
(463, 464).
463 … puku Bilom=u y–apmi–ke …

go.down Bilom=Top 3sO–pass–SS.Pf
… and you'll go down and pass Bilom …
464 Asä pipiä p–ä–pu dämä=ne wayi–ka–ying.

like.this dirt pO–take–go.down CL.cliff=Loc pour–p.DIpf–23p.Pr
Trash like this they take and pour down the cliff.
The compound ä–pu 'take–go down' also illustrates the occasional semantic
opaqueness of compounds described in chapter 7 in that, though it contains the verb äng
'take', it does not literally mean 'take'.
465 p–ä–pu yagä halu–ke yol=une kop–bumäng.

pO–take–go.down water wash–SS.Pf home=Loc go.up–1p.Pst
and we went down (took ourselves down) and bathed (washed water) and went home.
11.3 Serial Verbs Encoding Complex Events
One use of serial-verb constructions is to describe complex events consisting of

two or more closely related actions. In same-subject constructions, the first verb may tell
how the action expressed by the second verb is carried out (466, 467), the combined
actions/states may exhibit a cause and effect relationship (468, 469), or the second verb
may indicate that the action expressed by the first verb was not successful (470). (Since
115
both verbs have the same subject, the verb is only inflected on the final verb of the
construction.)
466 gwälami p–äk–apu yotdäkä=ne p–e–kumäng.

carry pO–take–come hut=Loc pO–leave–1p.Pst
… we carried them back on our shoulders, and put them in the garden hut.
467 Wuku yiwi–ke=ngä, tumuk wam=u ya–kut.

go.down stay–SS.Pf=after prayer word=Top say–3s.Pst
After sitting down, he said a prayer.
468 … kupän=u a=wuyä–pa i–hi däpila–kul=u …

tobacco=Lnk PFocus=blow–1s.DS 3sO–cook shorten–3s.Pst=Top
…the tobacco that I smoked and it burned short, …
469 Tang–ut natä–pa.

3sO–hit know–1s.Imm
I want to learn to strum it (play the guitar) (lit., I will hit and know.)
470 Engang=u Bapuluwe bimä täpä–läpä=him=dä wam=u

child=Lnk Bapuluwe like Cl.stick=Cl.stick=Dim=Abl word=Top
kekem ya mali–wä …
wrong say fail–23p.DS
When children like Bapuluwe speak wrong …
Verbs in a same-subject serial-verb construction share aspect, which may be

marked only on the final verb of the construction. There is one temporal suffix that can
follow the first verb in a serial-verb construction. This is –hi 'durative' (see 7.2.7).
Different-subject serial-verb constructions encode complex events in which the
referent of the object of the first verb functions as the subject of the second verb. They
exhibit a cause and effect relationship in which the first verb expresses an action and the
second expresses the state/action that results from the first action. The underlined noun
phrase in each example is the object of the first verb and the subject of the second.
471 A=l–ä–pän taka–k.

PFocus=sO–take–3s.DS improve–3s.Pr
He fixed it. (lit., He took it and it improved.)
472 Däki a=l–aha–wa i–hi–k.

fire PFocus=sO–do=1s.DS 3sO–cook–3s.Pst
I lit a fire. (lit., I made a fire and it burned)
473 Ya–wi e–pän.

say–2s.DS come.down–3s.Imm
Tell him to come down. (lit., You tell him so that he will come down)
116
474 … p–ä–ku hipdu glas tängä=ne p–aha–wän ku–wä …

pO–take–go again grass Cl.place=ne pO–do=3s.DS go–23p.DS
and went and wiped them off in the grass, and (lit., and he did them and they went) …
11.4 Serial Verbs Encoding Direction
Serial-verb constructions are also used to indicate that an action occurs over a
spatial distance, and to encode the direction in which it occurs. Such constructions
involve a verb stem followed by a compound formed with äng 'take' and a motion verb
such as ap 'come', indicating movement toward the speaker (475), or kung 'go',
indicating movement away from the speaker (476).
475 Une=tä i–hi t–äk–apu–ke yot i–hi–yäk.

that=Loc=Abl 3sO–cook sO–take–come–SS.Pf home 3sO–cook–3s.Appr
From there it might come burning along and burn the house.
476 Ti–wän tuli tä–ku–xa–wän …

be–3s.DS pull sO–take–go–SIpf–3s.DS
As it was pulling him along, …
Motion verbs indicating direction, such as ep 'come down' (477) and akop 'come
up' (478), may also be used in these constructions.
477 Wamä t–äk–ep–ä pulu–wän=ä yemi

tie sO–take–come.down–23.DS finish–3s.DS=after base
wamä–ka–kin.
tie–p.DIpf–23p.Pst
After they finished tying it down they would tie the base.
478 … bäläng=ä=ne=tä p–ä–ke tuli t–äk–akop–bum.

foot=3.Gen=Loc=Abl pO–take–SS.Pf pull sO–take–come.up–1s.Pst
… I took him by his legs and pulled him up.
A similar construction involves the verb äng 'take' with the suffix –ke 'same
subject perfective' following the main verb stem and followed by kung 'go' (479, 480) or
ap 'come' (481). This construction indicates that the action of the main verb is realized
while the motion is performed.
479 Ti–ke kep dupi pengwäha t–ä–ke ku–kum.

be–SS.Pf ground Cl.finger crawl sO–take–SS.Pf go–1s.Pst
Rather, I went crawling on the ground.
117
480 … hipdu tuli t–ä–ke ku–kut.

again pull sO–take–SS.Pf go–3s.Pst
… and again it went pulling him along.
481 Wesan tängä=ne yäyi t–ä–ke apu–xa–wa …

sand Cl.place=Loc step sO–take–SS.Pf come–SIpf–1s.DS
I was coming along the beach walking …
Motion verbs indicating direction up or down such as kop 'go up' (482), and
pukung 'go down' (483) can also be used.
482 Dayi t–ä–ke kop–bum.

see.3pO sO–take–SS.Pf go.up–1s.Pst
I went up checking them (the other traps).
483 … u=ne=tä ena–ke puyä yagä u=dupi

that=Loc=Abl rise–SS.Pf work water that=Cl.finger
p–aha t–ä–ke puku–kumäng.

pO–do sO–take–SS.Pf go.down–1p.Pst
… and from there we got up and went down doing work along the river.
11.5 Serial Verbs Encoding Specific Aspects
Awara has two means of encoding specific aspects with serial-verb constructions.
One is an extension of the constructions using äng 'take' and a motion verb used to
encode direction as described in 11.4. The other is the use of the verb pulut 'finish'. First
the constructions involving äng and a motion verb are shown, and then the one using
pulut.
The constructions here involving äng 'take' and a motion verb differ from those
described in 11.4 in that they do not involve motion. They simply indicate aspect.
In one serial-verb construction the verb stem is followed by a compound verb
formed with t–äng 'sO-take' and a verb meaning 'come' to show former customary action
that is continued into the present (484) or into some past time (485). The verbs akop
'come up' (484) or ap 'come' (485) may be used in these constructions.
484 … mämä u=läknga=läknga u=sing yä–ning

law that=Cl.rope=Cl.rope that=like 3pO–tell
t–äk–ako–ka–mäng.
sO–take–come.up–p.DIpf–1p.Pr
and we keep telling them these rules like that.
118
485 mahan=de enat taka–kin=täyä u=läknga=ning=gän

behind=Dat rise grow–23p.Pst=also that=Cl.rope=Indiv=only
däknga t–ä–k–ap–bin.
break sO–take–come–23p.Pst
and the ones who rose and grew up later, they also kept damming (water) that way.
In another serial-verb construction that encodes a specific aspect, the verb stem is
followed by the verb t–ä–ke 'sO–take–SS perfective' and kung 'go'. This construction
indicates that the action in the main verb goes on for a period of time. This construction
can be used with both dynamic verbs like ahang 'do' (486) and stative verbs like yiwit
'stay' (487).
486 P–aha t–ä–ke ku–ga–wä nax=u bulä

pO–do sO–take–SS.Pf go–s.DIpf–23p.DS food=Top fruit
ala–ka–ying.
born–p.Dipf–23p.Pr
They keep on working for a while, and the food bears fruit.
487 Yiwi t–ä–ke ku–ke=ngä amin=u u=läpä

stay sO–take–SS.Pf go–SS.Pf=after person=Lnk that=Cl.stick
moning=u tädäknga–wik.
money=Top prepare–3s.Fut
After they live together for a while, that person (the husband) will get the money ready.
Completive aspect is indicated by the verb pulut 'finish'. The following sentence
illustrates pulut used in a same-subject serial-verb construction. The first verb lacks
subject-indexing, and the subject-indexing on pulut indicates the subject of both verbs in
the construction.
488 A=ipmä pulu–kumäng.

PFocus=cut finish–1p.Pst
We finished cutting it.
In his discussion on serial verbs Payne (1997:310) wrote, "Semantically, serial-

verb constructions often mean something slightly different from what the same series of
verbs would mean if they were cast in separate clauses. However, if the semantics have
changed very much, it is possible that the one of the verbs in the series has been re-
analyzed as an auxiliary. In fact, serial verbs are one major diachronic source for
auxiliaries." The use of äng 'take' and a motion verb and pulut 'finish' for encoding
119
specific aspects following a verb stem may indicate that these verbs are functioning as
auxiliaries.
The following sentences illustrate pulut 'finish' used in different-subject serial-
verb constructions to show completive aspect. The first verb in the construction has a
DIFFERENT SUBJECT suffix, and the subject-indexing on pulut 'finish' can be singular
(489) or plural (490).
489 Hamäk uhi–wä wuluk–ga–k.

grass fill–23p.DS finish–s.DIpf–3s.Pr
They finished putting the grass on (the roof).
490 … wa udä a=natä–pä wulu–wäyak.

this all PFocus=hear–23p.DS finish–3p.Prob
… everyone must have heard it already, (lit., probably all have heard it and they are
finished).
Awara also uses pulut 'finish' in clause chains. One distinction between the
different-subject serial-verb construction with pulut and the clause chain with pulut is
the location of the negative clitic do=. In the serial construction, do= precedes and
negates the whole construction (491). In the clause chain, =ngu 'conditional' follows the
first clause and do= precedes and negates only pulut (492).
491 Do=w–aha–wän pulu–kut.

Neg=pO–do–3s.DS finish–3s.Pst
He did not finish working.
492 P–aha–wän=u do=wulu–kut.

pO–do–3s.DS=Cond Neg=finish–3s.Pst
He worked and (it) did not finish.
*P–aha–wän do=wulu–kut.
11.6 Ambient Serial-Verb Constructions
Ambient serial-verb constructions do not have a specific referent as the subject of

the second verb. Rather, they make a general statement about the action expressed in the
preceding verb. Such constructions have the DIFFERENT SUBJECT suffix on the first verb to
indicate its subject, while the second verb is marked for third person singular subject.
The verb ting 'be' is used to indicate that the action of the first verb is tested or
tried. The first verb can be either intransitive (493) or transitive (494).
120
493 … tupäkäde naxala–kum, siw=une do=xu–wa ti–kut–de …

completely fear–1s.Pst ship=Loc Neg=go–1s.DS be–3s.Pst=Dat
…I was totally frightened, because I had not tried going on a ship, …
494 Nä=tä na–pa ti–wän.

1s=Abl eat–1s.DS be–3s.Imm
Let me try eating it.
The verb malit 'fail' indicates that the action referred to by the preceding verb was
done without success.
495 Ti–wän ya–wa ya–wa mali–ga–wän, …

be–3s.DS say–1s.DS say–1s.DS fail–s.DIpf–3s.DS
Well, I talked and talked with no success …
496 Ti–wän ta–wä–na mali–wän t–e–kumäng.

be–3s.DS 3sO–follow–1p.DS fail–3s.DS sO–leave–1p.Pst
We looked for it with no success, and we left it.
497 P–ä–ko yiwit–na mali–ga–wän hipdu ep–bumäng.

pO–take–go up stay–1p.DS fail–s.DIpf–3s.DS again come.down–1p.Pst
We went up and waited with no success (we waited for him to come up but he did not),
and we came down again.
11.7 Preceding Motion Verb Constructions
Awara has three constructions involving a preceding motion verb stem. These
may be used when the subject of the motion verb is the same as that of the following verb
in the construction. One of these is a serial-verb construction; the other two appear to be
something between a serial-verb construction and a clause chain—perhaps a "serial verb-
phrase" construction. In addition, the motion verb stem, unlike other stems in serial-verb
constructions, may be reduplicated.
11.7.1 Motion Serial-Verb Constructions

The motion serial-verb construction involves a motion verb stem followed by
another verb. An indication that this is a serial-verb construction in which the two verbs
combine to form a single complex predicate rather than a sequence of juxtaposed clauses
is that the object of the second verb precedes the motion verb. Note that kahat 'betel nut'
(498) and däki däkä 'wood' (499) precede the whole construction even though they are
the object of the second verbs nang 'eat' and matang 'cut'.
121
498 Kahat puku na–ke awä "Gä sane ku–wiläk?" ya–wa …

betelnut go.down eat–SS.Pf and 2s where go–2s.Fut say–1s.DS
I went down chewing betel nut, and I asked him, "Where will you go?" and
499 Däki däkä ku mata–wa ep–ning, katak kayämut

wood Cl.thick go cut–1s.DS come.down–23p.Fut hand cucumber
tälang p–aha=nage.
pole pO–do=purpose
I will go cut down trees, to make poles for the cucumber vines.
Another indication that they are serial-verb constructions is that, unlike in clause
chains, negation has scope over the whole serial-verb construction. In the following
example, do= 'negative' precedes the motion verb and negates all of the verbs in the
construction.
500 Däki däkä do=xu mata–wa ep–ning.

tree Cl.thick Neg=go cut–1s.DS come.down–23p.Fut
I will not go cut down trees.
11.7.2 Motion Serial Verb-Phrase Constructions
The motion serial verb-phrase construction involves a motion verb stem followed
by a verb phrase. These constructions differ from ordinary serial-verb constructions in
several ways. The first is that each of the verbs may have its own complements or
adverbial phrases. In (501) the adverbial phrase näle puyäne 'my garden' precedes ku
'go', and the adverbial phrase kukale 'by theft' and the complement nale yayi 'my yams'
precede kwaying 'dig'.
501 Imin=dä nä=le puyä=ne ku kuka=le nä=le yayi

who=Abl 1s=Dat garden=Loc go theft=Dat 1s=Dat yam
kwayi–kut=nä ka–t?
dig–3s.Pst=after see.3sO–1s.Pr
Who went to my garden and dug my yams by theft and I saw it?
In (502) ku 'go' has its source and goal locatives preceding it, and kang 'see"3sO'
has its object and locative preceding it.
502 Kwew=u a=ne=tä ata=ne ku Giwisa u=ne ka–wa, …

±1 day=Top this=Loc=Abl level=Loc go Giwisa that=Loc see.3sO–1s.DS
Yesterday I went from here to over there and saw Giwisa there and …
122
The second way these differ from other serial-verb constructions is that they have
a pause after the motion verb, similar to the pause after clauses in a clause chain.
The third way is that the motion verb in serial verb-phrase constructions can be
followed by =ngu 'conditional' (503) or =yä 'after' (504). In this way they resemble
clause chains in which medial clauses can be followed by =ngu or =yä (see chapter 9).
503 Ko=ngu Kupahagämän=une kälaw=u täpä=tu ka–kum.

go.up=Cond Kupahagaman=Loc animal=Lnk Cl.stick=one see.3sO–1s.Pst
I went up and saw an animal at Kupahagaman.
504 Yol=une ako=ngä nan=ä kem i–ni–kut.

village=Loc come.up=after father=3.Gen lie 3sO–tell–3s.Pst
After coming up home, he told his father a lie.
The fourth way they differ from serial-verb constructions is that the second verb
phrase can be negated. When it is negated, the motion verb is followed by =ngu (505,
506).
505 Ku=ngu däki däkä do=mata–wa ep–ning.

go=Cond tree Cl.thick Neg=cut–1s.DS come.down–23p.Fut
When I go I won't cut down trees.
506 Ku=ngu do=wuku–kut

go=Cond Neg=go.down–3s.Pst
He went and didn't go down.
*Ku dowukukut.
The fifth way is that, unlike serial-verb constructions in which do= 'negative'
precedes the first verb and negates the whole serial-verb construction (500 repeated),
negation cannot precede a motion verb stem that is followed by a verb phrase (507).
500 Däki däkä do=xu mata–wa ep–ning.

tree Cl.thick Neg=go cut–1s.DS come.down–23p.Fut
507 *Do=xu däki däkä mata–wa ep–ning.

Neg=go tree Cl.thick cut–1s.DS come.down–23p.Fut
This restriction on negation also shows that these constructions are not quite like
clause chains, either. In clause chains, any clause can be negated (see 10.1). For example,
in the clause chain below, do= precedes the first clause and does not have scope over the
123
following clauses. But in serial verb-phrase constructions, the first verb cannot be
negated (507) above.
508 Yupsäng do=ako–xa–wa a=yiw–a–wi,

quickly Neg=come.up–SIpf–1s.DS PFocus=stay–SIpf–2s.DS
kepmä hikngä a=ne ako–t.

noon real this=Loc come.up–1s.Pr
I did not come up quickly, you were here, and at noon I came up.
11.7.3 äng-Motion Serial Verb-Phrase Constructions

The äng-motion serial verb-phrase constructions involve a compound word
formed with äng 'take' and a motion word followed by a verb phrase. In (509) p–ä–ku
'pO–take–go' has no complement, but the second verb has the complement yagä 'water'
immediately preceding it. These resemble the motion serial verb-phrase constructions
(11.7.2) in that the argument of the following verb can come between the motion verb
and that verb. However, they resemble ordinary serial-verb constructions in that there is
no pause after the motion verb.
509 Ge Tude tebanä ena–ke p–ä–ku yagä halu–ke …

so Tuesday morning rise–SS.Pf pO–take–go water wash–SS.Pf
And Tuesday morning I got up and went and washed, …
11.7.4 Reduplication of Motion Verb
Reduplication of the motion verb stem can be used to show protracted action. This
may be combined with –hika 'SS durative perfective' either after the reduplicated stems
(510) or before them (511). This has only been found with the motion verb kung 'go'.
510 ku ku ku–hika ku–hika ku yol=u gäpang=gu Säpät

go go go–SS.DurPf go–SS.DurPf go home=Lnk Cl.village=one Sapat
yang i–ni–ka–ying p–ä–ku u=gäpang=u

Comp 3sO–tell–p.DIpf–23p.Pr pO–take–go that=Cl.village=Top
y–apmi–ke a=xu–wiläk.
3sO–pass–SS.Pf PFocus=go–2s.Fut
You'll go and go, and you'll go to a village they call Sapat, you'll pass that place and go
on.
511 ku–hika ku ku Mängyäng dupi=ne puku do–ke …

go–SS.DurPf go go Mangyang Cl.finger=Loc go.down complete–SS.Pf
You'll go and go, and you'll go all the way down to Mangyang River, …
APPENDIX:
ALLOMORPHS OF UNVOICED STOP–INITIAL SUFFIXES AND CLITICS
The following table shows the unvoiced stop-initial suffixes and clitics. The
column on the left lists morphemes, and the other seven columns indicate the
morphophonemic processes in which they participate. The processes (reading across) are
lenition; point of articulation assimilation, voicing, and homorganic stop deletion

(following an oral consonant); and point of articulation assimilation, voicing, and
homorganic nasal deletion (following a nasal).

The check mark in the box indicates that the process does take place, and the
allophone or allomorph by it makes explicit what the form is when this is not obvious.
Some boxes are empty because the morphemes do not occur in environments where those
processes might take place.
124
125
Table 29 Allomorphs of Unvoiced Stop–Initial Suffixes and Clitics

After Vowel After Oral Consonant After Nasal
Morpheme Lenite POA Voice Stop POA Voice Nasal
V__ Assim. C ___ Delete Assim. N __ Delete
=ka 'ever' No √=da √=ga No √=da √=ga No
=kÅn 'only' No √=dÅn √=gÅn No √=dÅn √=gÅn No
=tu 'one' No √=gu √=du No √=gu √=du No
=tÅne 'Poss' No √=gÅne √=dÅne No √=gÅne √=dÅne No
=tÅ 'Ablative' No √=gÅ √=dÅ No √=gÅ √=dÅ No
=teyÅ 'but' No √=geyÅ √=deyÅ No √=geyÅ √=deyÅ No
-ka '2s.Gen' No √–da √–ga No √–da √–ga No
-k 'Past'43 No √-b √–b No
-ta '1d.Imm' No No √–da No
-ta '1d.DS' No No √–da No
-tam '1d.Hyp' No No √–dam No
=kÅt 'with' √=WÅt √=pÅt No √ √=pÅt No √

√=tÅt √=tÅt
=kÅtan 'in' √=WÅtan √=pÅtan No √ √=pÅtan No √
√=tÅtan √=tÅtan
=kÅyÅ 'also' √=WÅyÅ √=pÅyÅ No √ √=pÅyÅ No √
√=tÅyÅ √=tÅya
tÅknga 'Cl.rope' √lÅknga √kÅknga No No √kÅknga No optional
optional
tÅpÅ 'Cl.stick' √lÅpÅ √kÅpÅ No No √kÅpÅ No optional
optional
-p initial44 √w No √ √-b ?45

-k 'Imm'46 √W √-b √-b No
=te 'Dative' √=le √=ge √=de No √=ge √-de No
–ta 'become'47 √–la √-ka √-da No (p) -ka√ √-da No (m)
No -ta Yes (t) No -ta Yes (n)
No -ka Yes (k) No -ka Yes (˜)
43
This represents the PAST TENSE suffixes, all of which begin with /k/.
44
This represents the suffixes beginning with /p/.
45
Since voiced stops are prenasalized, it is hard to say whether or not the nasal phoneme is deleted.
46
This represents the IMMEDIATE IMPERATIVE MOOD set of verb suffixes beginning with /k/.
47
The initial consonant of -ta 'become' assimilates to the point of articulation of the preceding velar. It
causes the preceding alveolar or velar to delete (homorganic stop or nasal). It voices only after bilabials.
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THE AWARA VERBAL SYSTEM

Bachelor of Arts, The King's College, 1987

Grand Forks, North Dakota

Dean of the Graduate School

Title The Awara Verbal System

In presenting this thesis in partial fulfillment of the requirements for a graduate

2 Brief Description of Phonology................................................................................4

5.4 Types of Meaning in Modal Nouns ...........................................................39

6.2.4 Ditransitive Verbs ........................................................................52

Different-Subject Suffixes ........................................................82

8.1 Complement Clauses.................................................................................95

11.7 Preceding Motion Verb Constructions..................................................... 120

Figure 2 Language Map..................................................................................................2

Table 2 Consonant Phonemes.........................................................................................4

he gave me the guidance and the courage I needed to finish it.

constructions, 3) clause chaining, and 4) subordination.

Guningwan (written Gunigwän in the Awara orthography), a hamlet of Tawaya (Täwayä)

variety of Awara spoken in the central region.

PAPUA NEW GUINEA

Wabag BISMARCK SEA

Figure 1 General Locality Map1

Awara is a Papuan language of the Trans-New Guinea phylum, Finisterre-Huon

Figure 2 Language Map

There are several published descriptions of different aspects of the Wantoat

2.1 Phonemes and Orthography

Table 1 Vowel Phonemes

Table 2 Consonant Phonemes

2.2 Morphophonemic Processes

The following is a general description of the major morphophonemic processes of

POINT OF ARTICULATION ASSIMILATION causes the point of articulation of stops

HOMORGANIC NASAL DELETION causes some nasals to be deleted when followed

STOP LENITION softens the unvoiced stops /k p t/ to /W w l/ between vowels. This

S-LENITION causes morpheme-initial /s/ to be softened to /y/ between vowels. This

PALATAL NASALIZATION causes /y/ to be nasalized when it immediately follows a

2.3 Tables Showing Variation in Verbs

To illustrate the range of morphophonemic variation in the language, several

Table 3 Template for Tables Showing Variation in Verbs

Table 4 ˜–, t–, and p– Final Verbs

Table 5 mut 'throw'

Table 6 mi˜ 'give'

Table 7 p-Final Motion Verbs

Table 8 Verbs with Monosyllabic and Disyllabic Stems

Table 9 ku˜Å˜ 'die'

In addition, I mention basic constituent order, anaphoric pro-verbs based on ting

The basic order of constituents in the Awara clause is SOV.

1 Subject ––––––––Object––––– Verb

major aspects of the inflectional morphology.

4 A=sing hikngä wam–so.

6 Wätä ti–wi=n kasot=da akop–ning.

Medial-verb suffixes are used on certain dependent clauses, typically non-final,

verb suffix (9).

9 Halu–ke p–e–na yä–ha–ka–ying, gusit

10 … [wuyä ip–it]=de ku–kum.

15 Puyä ga=le ga–mi–ka–mäng.

16 Takeläpä, gä=tä gatä–nga–mi–yo.

Other analyses of this benefactive construction are discussed in 7.1.2.

3.3 Serial-Verb Constructions

18 Amin=dä ap–ä kätak daying yiwi–ke towi–yo.

19 Däki a=bä tang–ut–na ku–pik.

The various types of serial-verb constructions are described in chapter 11.

3.4 Subordinate-Dependent Clauses

Awara has two kinds of subordinate-dependent clauses: 1) non-finite clauses